This past weekend I froze for a great cause: St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital’s annual ‘Give Thanks’ walk. It was cold. It was rainy. It was windy. It was also fun! Along with a few hundred other ‘Mempians’ my family and I walked 3 miles for a great cause. Well…they did. I cheated just a little. More on that later.
First let me tell you a little about St. Jude’s:
The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of our founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability to pay. Source
That’s right. If a family can’t afford to pay, they can still get state of the art treatment at St. Jude’s. How amazing is that? I can only imagine how stressful caring for an ill child is in and of itself. Adding financial strain to the mix just seems like cruel and unusual punishment. I am so grateful that places like St. Jude’s exist. It was so worth freezing for a couple of hours.
Sooooooo on the day of the ‘Give Thanks’ walk me, my sister, my aunt and a couple of my cousins braved the 30 degree weather all bundled up and raring to go. That didn’t last long. Especially for me. I’m still a California girl at heart and me, plus cold weather, equals a VERY unhappy camper. So I’ll let you all in on a little secret: about 40 minutes into the walk we turned the bend and I caught sight of my sister’s car. Just sitting there. Calling me into its warmth. My eyes were watering, my ears were aching from the wind continuously blowing my hoodie off, and my feet were numb. Needless to say I took a little detour and spent 15 glorious minutes in the car defrosting. By the time my sister came back around I gleefully joined her in time to cheer my way across the finish line and pose for a few misleading photos. Don’t judge me! My donation still counted. Any-who, check out a few pics from my walk of shame.
Even though the walk is over, you can still donate here if you like. Be blessed!
Related articles
- Walk For St. Jude Children’s Hospital Warms Target Field (minnesota.cbslocal.com)
- St. Jude Give Thanks Walk at Jungle Island (sfdja.wordpress.com)
- Thanks To All Who Turned Out For St. Jude’s Walk – $509,732 Raised (churchofmalphasblog.com)
- St. Jude’s hosts a walk to give thanks (unmcj278f13.wordpress.com)
Faith Simone 