It all started with the late entertainment icon Danny Thomas many years ago. Way before he became a household name to millions of people around the U.S. as families would gather in their living rooms to tune-in weekly to watch the hit sitcom, “Make Room For Daddy”, on their black and white television sets.
As a struggling, young man searching to find his way in life, he relied heavily upon his faith to see him through the difficult times. Unsure of what direction he should really take in life as he struggled to make ends meet, as artists often do at the beginning of their careers, and having been raised as a devout Catholic, he would often pray and seek guidance from St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes, since he considered himself to be a hopeless cause. This is a thought that crosses all of our minds, I know it has mine in difficult times when I have struggled and questioned myself, my choices, and finding my path in life. I have searched in prayer for guidance many times, too, just like Danny often did.
He aspired to become an entertainer through his comedy and acting. Definitely not a secure path for anyone. Only a handful out of the thousands of people who seek such a career actually find any success at all and if they do, it is often fleeting at best. Should he chose a safer path behind the desk in an office working 9 to 5 as maybe an accountant crunching numbers or listen to his heart by continuing to follow his aspirations, chasing what many consider to be a pipe dream, as he sought to find any success in the entertainment field.
“Show me my way in life and I will build you a shrine.” — Danny Thomas’ repeated prayer to patron St. Jude Thaddeus
If the patron saint would point to the path he should take in his life, Danny vowed to build a shrine in his name someday. Success where he once struggled began to follow Danny’s plea. After a few years of enjoying the success he had found and raising a family, the legendary entertainer set about fulfilling his vow to St. Jude as a young man and make good on his word. The result was St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Danny Thomas standing in front of St. Jude.
Founder and entertainer Danny Thomas opened the doors to St. Jude in 1962 with the dream that “no child should die in the dawn of life”.
What makes St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital different from other hospitals is no patient or their family will ever receive a bill from St. Jude. All medical treatment costs, travel expenses, lodging for the patient and their family is covered by this amazing organization. They only want the patient and their family to focus on getting better without adding extra stress due to finances.
If you have ever had a serious medical condition occur in your life, then you will understand how devastating this can be on top of the emotional stress already dealing with because of this disease. Many marriages have broken up because of the strain of finances and the emotional turmoil that occurs. Many people have lost their homes and all possessions ending up on the streets homeless after having just battled cancer or some other devastating illness. Being unable to work to keep a roof over their head and feed their family, constantly being sick, building uncertainty over the future, and mounting medical bills can break the strongest person over time as hope dwindles.
At St. Jude there IS hope. When a child has been discovered to have a life-threatening illness and seemingly untreatable terminal cancer at any medical facility around the country, those facilities turn to St. Jude by making a call to the facility on the patient’s behalf. They receive their answers within just hours and the wheels are put into motion to get them there. All children and their families of all walks of life facing devastating medical diagnoses that other facilities can not treat who are without hope are welcomed to St. Jude where their treatment begins as soon as they can get there. Many of the best doctors and nurses in the world are all located on the huge campus of St. Jude in Memphis, Tennessee. There is also a large research facility on the campus where scientists are working diligently every day to find cures for these rare forms of childhood cancer and life-threatening illness effecting children. Not only do they do extensive research on their campus for helping their patients, but they make their findings public on the internet to share all of this information with other medical facilities.
As you can imagine, the cost to fund all of this without any patient or their family paying even one dime is extraordinarily immense. That is where ALSAC comes in. ALSAC is the fundraising arm of St. Jude and its main office is also located on the St. Jude campus in Memphis with satellite offices all around the U.S. in major cities. ALSAC stands for American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities. It was founded by Danny Thomas, who was Lebanese, in 1957 to be the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and its sole mission is to raise the funds and awareness necessary to operate and maintain the hospital.
ALSAC is responsible for raising 75% of the funds necessary to operate St. Jude. So, before St. Jude could be built, ALSAC had to be created to make Danny’s vision a reality as he enlisted the help of friends in entertainment and corporate America to help build what would become St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital that opened its doors in 1962.
Inaugural Country Cares for St. Jude in 1989
Flash forward to 1989, when Danny Thomas attended a concert in California by country band Alabama and singer Clint Black. Both chart-topping and well-known to country fans. Following the concert, Danny approached Randy Owen, lead singer of Alabama, and started to converse with him. It was during this brief encounter that Danny Thomas said these heartfelt words to Randy Owen and their friendship was formed:
“I really need your people (in country music) to get involved.”
Randy thought on it some and was deeply inspired by the entertainment icon turned philanthropist. It was then that Country Cares was born and from that moment to this day, Randy Owen has carried that “torch” with just a small spark ignited by Danny and he in turn ignited a small fire that would grow over time within the hearts of the country music industry.
He reached out to other country artists like his friend Clint Black and so many more to help him make this happen. He made calls to the country record labels on Music Row in Nashville to try to get their support. Contacted various country radio stations with the idea of hosting radiothons each year reaching their listeners to raise money for St. Jude. That small spark ignited in Randy Owen that day back in 1989 by Danny Thomas has continued to burn brightly and more intensely for the last 30 years. It has lead to millions upon millions of dollars raised over the years for St. Jude within the U.S. by the country music industry through Country Cares.
Since then, the country music industry has stood strongly behind and partnered closely with St. Jude to help them continue their mission that has saved so many children’s lives, advanced childhood cancer research, and given hope back to those who were feeling hopeless just as Danny felt as a struggling, young artist back so many years before as he faced uncertainty in his life.
Randy Owen visiting with a young patient during one of his many trips to St. Jude over the last 30 years.
Still think that one person can’t make a difference? Change can begin with just one person as Danny Thomas and Randy Owen have both shown. You just have to have the right heart along with the belief, faith, passion, and determination to carry it through. If you want change, be that change and spread your light to ignite a light within others. If you reach the right people and they see your sincerity, you will be amazed at how you can inspire and spark a flame within others to join your cause. That ME becomes WE and together a group of people can move mountains with the right leadership. Danny was spot on in reaching out to Randy Owen that day. Randy had/has that leadership quality, the heart, and determination to see things through.
As much success as Randy has had over the years as lead singer of award-winning country band Alabama, it is his work with St. Jude that he is most proud of. You can see it in his face and every word he speaks when talking about what St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital means to him. He worries that as he gets older and knowing he won’t be around forever, just who will step into his shoes and carry forth that “flame” continuing the work within the country music industry towards a lofty future where no child dies of cancer before they have even had a chance to live. Something tells me that there will be others who will step forward to carry on the St. Jude mission when that time comes, but there will never be anyone else like Randy. Those shoes can not be filled, but another heart can be ignited to become a strong leader within country music to carry forth the mission of St.Jude and following in the footsteps of Randy whose heart was touched by Danny so many years before inspiring him to blaze a trail where none existed before in creating Country Cares.
As Country Cares celebrated its 30th anniversary this past weekend with a total to date raised of over $800 million dollars, attendees and artists alike were all treated during the day to hearing the incredible stories of surviving childhood cancer patients that are now adults. Speakers from St. Jude and ALSAC helped to educate all in attendance about their mission. There were tours of the hospital to visit the colorful, cheerful halls where hope exists, and there were tours of the Target House sponsored by Target where the patients and their families stay free of charge together when they come to the hospital for treatments.
At night, we celebrated. Music filled the air. New friendships were formed through a common bond of the love of country music and a desire to support the mission of St. Jude. There was a strong spirit in the air all weekend that only grew stronger as the days went on culminating to a peak on the last night at the Songwriters’ Dinner before we all headed home.
That night we celebrated the accomplishments of the many gathered together at the legendary Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee near the campus of St. Jude. We dressed in cocktail attire for the occasion. We dined together. We applauded and smiled when ACM president Pete Fisher presented St. Jude on stage with a check for $50,000 from ACM Lifting Lives, the Academy of Country Music’s own charitable arm devoted to helping those with Williams Syndrome. We all watched and stood when Jake Owen was presented with the Randy Owen Angels Among Us Award on stage by Randy himself. We saw his broad smile and listened as he said that he did not think any award would ever mean as much to him as this one from St. Jude. Finally, we listened, clapped, danced, and sang along as Randy Owen, Clint Black, Jake Owen, and Michael Ray treated us all to a very special acoustic concert that would leave most of us with eyes filled with tears and strong hope towards the future. We carry deeply in our hearts now that the mission of St. Jude must now reach an international audience and help even more children around the world. It is well-known in the U.S., but not so much outside of our country and we need to change that because every child deserves a chance to experience life.
Jake Owen on receiving the Randy Owen Angels Among Us Award and the responsibility to give back:
“I feel like that’s our duty as a country music entertainer. It’s not just singing songs for people and entertaining. It’s what we do with the platform that we’ve so luckily been given, honestly. I say ‘given’ — we’ve worked for the platform. But I think there’s more to what we do than just singing songs.
How do you help people? How do you give back? I know that by being an example and being a leader in that, hopefully others will follow. That’s what I was taught by guys like Randy (Owen) and so many others that have come before me.”
On why the country music community — artists, radio and fans — has such a strong bond with St. Jude:
“I’ve always believed that country music is songs for the family, songs for the people. Common folk. And I believe that it just goes hand in hand with the mission for St. Jude, as far as lending a helping hand. I think you hear those types of sentiments in a lot of country songs. I think they’re just relatable.”
Country Cares Songwriters Dinner at the Peabody on Saturday, January 26, 2019.
On what draws him to St. Jude and its mission:
“I just love the fact that they’re presenting a place for families to come and not have to worry anymore. They can find help here. There are so many families out that don’t know what to do, they don’t know how to get answers. They don’t have the money. To be able to come to a place like this, be taken care of, be informed — I don’t find there’s anything else that’s as valuable as St. Jude.”
Do you want to help St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital continue its mission? You can help make a difference. Go to www.thisshirtsaveslives.org to find out how you can become a partner in hope, too. You’ll be glad that you did.
St. Jude is truly heaven on Earth where their entire staff and volunteers are truly angels living among us and in a world where turning on the nightly news can discourage even the most positive person, it’s nice to know that hope is alive and well at St. Jude where those who have lost hope with nowhere else to turn can go.
