pledge to build a shrine to the saint if he would show
him the way.
In the years that followed, Danny’s career flourished
through films and television, and he became an
internationally known entertainer. He remembered his
pledge to build a shrine to St. Jude.
In the early 1950s, Danny began discussing with
friends what concrete form his vow might take.
Gradually, the idea of a children’s hospital, possibly
in Memphis, Tennessee, took shape. In 1955, Danny
Thomas and a group of Memphis businessmen who
had agreed to help support his dream, seized on the
idea of creating a unique research hospital devoted to
curing catastrophic diseases in children. More than
just a treatment facility, this would be a research
center for the children of the world.
Danny started raising money for his vision of St.
Jude in the early 1950s. By 1955, local business
leaders who had joined his cause began area
fundraising efforts, supplementing Danny’s benefit
shows that brought scores of major entertainment
stars to Memphis. Often accompanied by his wife,
Rose Marie, Danny crisscrossed the United States by
car, sharing his dream and raising funds at meetings
and benefits. The pace was so hectic that he and Rose
Marie once visited 28 cities in 32 days. Although Danny
Thomas and his friends raised
the money to build the hospital,
they now faced the daunting task
of funding its annual operation.
To solve this problem, Danny,
of Lebanese descent, turned to
his fellow Americans of Arabic-
speaking heritage. Believing
deeply that these Americans
should, as a group, thank the
United States for the gifts of
freedom given their parents,
he also felt the support of St.
Jude would be a noble way of honoring his immigrant
forefathers who had come to America.
Danny’s request struck a responsive chord. In 1957,
100 representatives of the Arab-American community
met in Chicago to form ALSAC with a sole purpose of
raising funds for the support of St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital.
Since that time, with national headquarters in
Memphis and regional offices throughout the United
States, ALSAC has assumed full responsibility for all
the hospital’s fundraising efforts, raising hundreds
of millions annu