Consumers Across the Nation Spring Into Action to Help Kids Fighting Cancer and Other Deadly Diseases During St. Jude Give thanks. Give hope. Campaign

$1 donation at checkout April-May supports St. Jude Children's Research Hospital^®

MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The annual St. Jude Give thanks. Give hope.™ campaign kicks off this month and runs through May with more than 2,600 retailers across the country asking customers to donate $1 or more to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, where no family ever pays for anything.

Programs like Give thanks. Give hope. help kids like Ellie, who was diagnosed with a rare and deadly brain tumor. After receiving chemotherapy and radiation at St. Jude, Ellie is now off treatment and returns to the hospital only for regular checkups.

"St. Jude gave us the hope we needed," said Ellie's mom. "We knew coming to St. Jude was Ellie's best chance to beat the tumor."

In just four years, thousands of businesses nationwide and their loyal shoppers have raised $1.6 million, helping give hope to thousands of kids receiving treatment at St. Jude. It costs $1.7 million to operate the hospital every day and 75 percent of that funding comes from the public through programs like Give thanks. Give hope.

"We are so thankful for our generous partners' support of the annual Give thanks. Give hope. campaign," said Richard Shadyac Jr., CEO of ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "Even in difficult economic times, the lifesaving work of St. Jude must continue. Each dollar donated helps in our fight to find cures for cancer and other deadly childhood diseases so that children like Ellie in communities everywhere will have a second chance at life."

Fry's Food Stores, the top fundraising partner for the 2011 campaign, joins customers of DTLR, A&P Family of Supermarkets, Learning Express, McAlister's Deli, Putt-Putt®, Hancock Fabrics, Twin State Beauty Supply and many other retail outlets around the country asking shoppers to add $1 or more at the register to support St. Jude during the months of April and May. All donations help St. Jude continue to speed research discoveries directly from its labs to the patient and doctors everywhere. Every child saved at St. Jude means thousands more saved worldwide and no family ever pays St. Jude for anything.

For nearly 50 years, St. Jude has been helping families such as Ellie's conquer pediatric cancer. To read Ellie's full story or to find a participating partner near you, visit www.stjude.org/givethanksgivehope.

About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Since opening 50 years ago, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has changed the way the world treats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. No family ever pays St. Jude for the care their child receives and, for every child treated here, thousands more have been saved worldwide through St. Jude discoveries. The hospital has played a pivotal role in pushing U.S. pediatric cancer survival rates from 20 to 80 percent overall, and is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. It is also a leader in the research and treatment of blood disorders and infectious diseases in children. St. Jude was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, who believed that no child should die in the dawn of life. Join that mission by visiting stjude.org or following us on facebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude.

SOURCE ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital