Promesa y Esperanza® raises more than $500,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®

USA - English

• Latin America - español

National radio event supports kids with cancer, deadly diseases

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Oct. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Thousands of radio listeners tuned in to help raise more than  $500,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® during the 16th annual Promesa y Esperanza® (Promise and Hope) radiothon on Oct. 3-4. Since its inception in 1997, Promesa y Esperanza has raised more than $88 million for St. Jude, which is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other deadly diseases.

This year's radio event united Latino listeners in major metropolitan areas, including Boston, Nashville, Orlando, Philadelphia, Providence, and Kansas City– thanks to fourteen participating stations, including affiliates of the Davidson Media Group and other independent stations, which donated 30 hours of programming.

"We are grateful for our partnership with Davidson Media Group and other independent stations that enable us to reach U.S. Latinos with our message of hope," said Richard Shadyac Jr., CEO of ALSAC/ St. Jude. "Thanks to programs like Promesa y Esperanza and the support of radio listeners across the country, St. Jude will continue to share the breakthroughs we make so doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children."

The radiothon featured testimonials from St. Jude patients such as 2-year-old Dionisio, who is fighting leukemia. Thanks to the financial support of Angeles de Esperanza (Partners in Hope), Dionisio will continue to receive the best care, and his family will never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all his family should worry about is helping him live.

"It has been a pleasure for our organization to be a part of this event over the years and to help raise funds that translate into hope for patients and their families. We are grateful to our listeners for supporting our commitment to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital," said Chris McMurray, president of Davidson Media Group. 

Because the majority of St. Jude funding comes from individual contributors, St. Jude has the freedom to focus on what matters most – saving kids regardless of their financial situation. Events like Promesa y Esperanza help to support its lifesaving mission and initiatives, such as the St. Jude International Outreach Program.

For more information about Promesa y Esperanza or to make a donation, visit promesayesperanza.org or call (800) 998-8432. 

About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other deadly diseases. St. Jude has the world's best survival rates for the most aggressive childhood cancers, and treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since it opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90 percent in the next decade. St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org or following St. Jude on facebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude.

SOURCE St. Jude Children's Research Hospital