St. Jude Telethon Raises $7 Million, Sets New Fundraising Record

St. Jude runners in Central, Il set a new fundraising record for the children’s hospital when they raised just over $7 million during the 35th annual St. Jude Telethon.

Telethon hosts on Saturday night revealed a grand total of $7,018,286 raised.

Event organizers also announced that $3.4 million came from callers.

Before the telethon co-chairman Rick Semonis said they were worried that the event would fail to raise the same $6.8 million they raised in 2011.

Speaking about the organizations huge fundraising effort Semonis said:

“We had a couple of big hours from the community in the form of pledges. It’s a monstrous thank you. We thank you, the kids thank you, and we’re making a difference in kids lives with what we did yesterday and what the community stepped up to support.”

The $7.018 million take could not have arrived during a better time, St. Jude Children’s Research hospital is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. St. Jude uses money raised to study cures and treatments for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The organization is responsible for many ground-breaking treatments involving ill children, assisting children across the United States and in more than 70 countries around the world. Doctors at the not-for-profit facility also consult with doctors around the world to provide guidance for fighting childhood diseases.

St. Jude is always looking for new ways to raise money and for new volunteers to help assist the organization in various ways, if you would like more information you can visit http://www.stjude.org/waystohelp/.

Are you surprised by the record-breaking fundraising telethon given the still fragile state of the U.S. economy?