Jam for St. Jude is Tri Delta's Delta Mu chapter's annual event hosted to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. All of the proceeds from the event go directly to St. Jude, which costs around $2 Million a day to operate.
The event was first hosted in Feb. 2014, and after achieving tremendous success the past two years, it will be back Friday, Feb. 26 from 4-7 p.m. The event will be held at the Sigma Nu house, and will feature a local band, coffee and doughnuts. Entry will be $5 and you will receive one Greek point.
“This event is such a great time for all of the Greek community and other students to come together to raise money for a great cause,” said Mary Glenn Waldrop, Tri Delta’s philanthropy chair. “This year we have already raised between $130-140,000 for the children of St. Jude, and this event will help increase that number.”
Waldrop has a special connection to St. Jude not only because she is Tri Delta’s philanthropy chair, but also because her aunt was a patient at the hospital. She is passionate and motivated about raising money for St. Jude because she knows what these families go through.
“I have a goal of working at the hospital as a doctor in the future,” Waldrop said. “My aunt had AML, a type of leukemia, and unfortunately passed away because the survival rate was much lower back then. I am proud to say I am raising money for such an amazing place that is helping boost survival rates, treat patients and ultimately beat childhood cancer.”
Last Friday, Waldrop along with the members of the Delta Mu chapter helped coordinate a silent auction at the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk. The chapter doubled their goal and raised more than $35,000 for the children of St. Jude.
Delta Mu alone raised $204,414.79 for the hospital in 2014, making the University of Alabama chapter the highest fundraising chapter in the nation. The Delta Mu chapter at Alabama is also the first chapter in history to donate more than $200,000 in one year to St. Jude.
In honor of Tri Delta's national commitment, which is the largest single pledge of money in St. Jude's history, the short-term housing facility adjacent to the hospital is now named the Tri Delta Place.
The housing facility allows patients and their families to have a free place to stay while receiving treatment at the hospital. No child ever pays to receive cancer treatment from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is why Tri Delta's commitment to the hospital is so important.
Since the partnership began in 1999, Tri Delta members have raised more than $40 million for the children of St. Jude. With the help of donations from Jam for St. Jude this year, Tri Delta's Delta Mu chapter hopes to once again be the top fundraising chapter in the nation.
Here is a video showing Tri Delta's national commitment.
*all photos from Delta Delta Delta-The University of Alabama Facebook page*
