Funds support life-saving research at St. Jude

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Since opening its doors back on February 4, 1962 St. Jude Children's Hospital has drastically increased the survival rate of children over the last few decades.

The hospital has doubled the size of the original hospital since then. Now St. Jude offers the only pediatric researcher center on-site.

Today it costs more than $400 million a year to run St. Jude.

Fundraisers like the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway and radio-thons help keep the hospital running. Volunteers offer assistance on a more intrapersonal level.

It is the volunteers who provide meals for families, play with the patients, lead knitting classes and hold a variety of fundraisers that help keep St. Jude operating.