MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Amazon says it has awarded $10 million to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis through its AmazonSmile program.
Amazon donates 0.5% of the item purchase price to shoppers’ charity of choice when they shop at smile.amazon.com. Millions of shoppers have chosen St. Jude.
St. Jude is the first charity to reach the $10 million mark through the charity, Amazon said.
“We are beyond grateful for the generous spirit of Amazon, which has made possible these innovative programs that make it simple to support charities including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
More than 80 percent of the money needed to build and operate here has to come from donors. So clearly every dollar plays a big role.
“The hospital budget this year is well more than a billion, that’s with a ‘b’ a billion dollars per year so we rely upon that public support,” Shadyac Jr. said.
Shadyac Jr. said more than 2 million people chose to donate to St.Jude through the program. It is dollars that go to research and help families, like Mason’s a St. Jude Patient.
Shadyac Jr. called the donations, “humbling” as the hospital’s mission is unique. No family whose child goes to St. Jude receives a bill.
To keep St. Jude the great place it is, donations are always needed but the COVID-19 pandemic has made fundraising more difficult.
“It’s crucial because of the partnership with Amazon they provided yet another opportunity for people to engage with our mission. In a time when we’re not able, as you know, to conduct our marathon in the first week of December where we would ordinarily raise $12 million in a single event and people come from all across the United States,” Shadyac Jr. said.