St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital honors city of Memphis with St. Jude Spirit of the Dream Award at its annual premier Black History Month event

February 25, 2019 |

3 min read

In its bicentennial year, city of Memphis is the 2019 award recipient for longstanding commitment to St. Jude

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Feb. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of the city of Memphis bicentennial, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® honored the city with its annual St. Jude Spirit of the Dream award Friday, February 22 at its annual Black History Month event.

City of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland accepted the St. Jude Spirit of the Dream award with the Memphis Youth City Council on behalf of the city of Memphis for its dedication to the mission of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

More than 250 guests – including Memphis elected officials, top African-American business and local community leaders, sponsors, members of National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations, and longtime supporters of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – gathered for the fourth annual St. Jude Spirit of the Dream, celebrating the achievements of African-Americans in building the legacy of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The Spirit of the Dream award is presented to a person or institution that embodies the lifesaving mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and its founder, Danny Thomas. This year, the award honored the home of St. Jude, and was presented to Mayor Jim Strickland and members of the Memphis Youth City Council in honor of the city’s 200^th birthday.

“ALSAC was founded on the parable of the Good Samaritan and accordingly, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was founded on the principle that all families would be treated equally regardless of race, creed religion, or ability to pay. The location of St. Jude was intentional – in the midst of the civil rights era, Danny Thomas chose the heart of the South: Memphis, Tennessee to start the mission that would change the world,” said Richard Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “Memphis gave St. Jude a home in 1962, and ever since, the people of Memphis have given their boundless love, compassion, generosity and soul to the St. Jude mission. We feel privileged to honor the city of Memphis with the Spirit of the Dream award on its 200th birthday, for the continued dedication the city has shown our patients and families.”

Notable attendees at this year’s event included Dr. Rudolph E. Jackson, who was the first African-American doctor at St. Jude, Dr. Robert L.J. Spence Jr., who served at the first African-American pharmacist at St. Jude, and Dr. William Terrell Jr., the first African-American resident at St. Jude.

Emceed by former Mayor of Memphis and current Executive Director of Development at ALSAC, AC Wharton, this year’s Spirit of the Dream event captured the essence of Memphis with live entertainment from St. Jude patient Nick and The Garry Goin Group.

Because of events like these, families at St. Jude never receive a bill for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. To learn more about the lifesaving mission of St. Jude, visit stjude.org.

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 life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children.^® It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude won’t stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude freely shares the discoveries 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, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on Twitter and Instagram and subscribing to its YouTube channel.

This year's St. Jude Spirit of the Dream event welcomed three special guests: Dr. Rudolph E. Jackson (pictured with Richard Shadyac, Jr.), the first African-American doctor at St. Jude, Dr. Robert L.J. Spence Jr., the first African-American pharmacist at St. Jude, and Dr. William Terrell Jr., the first African-American resident at St. Jude.