MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Generous donors, corporate partners and celebrities helped propel the 11th annual St. Jude Thanks and Giving^® campaign past $100 million for the second consecutive year to help support the St. Jude mission of finding cures and saving children battling cancer and other life-threatening diseases. During the hectic holiday shopping season, corporate partners had a strong showing with Kmart leading all fundraising once again at $17.5 million, bringing its grand total to date to $76 million. Best Buy saw its campaign increase from nearly $1 million in 2013 to $9.7 million.

The campaign gets a boost of awareness from a star-studded roster of celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Michael Strahan, Sofia Vergara, Jon Hamm, Keith Urban, Luis Fonsi, Sabrina Soto, Olivia Holt, Daisy Fuentes and many more who joined Marlo Thomas in lending their time and talents in support of the mission of St. Jude.

“As a result of our amazing corporate partners, generous donors and celebrity friends, the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign has raised an incredible $587 million since it began in 2004,” said Marlo Thomas. “The support we receive allows our doctors and scientists to continue our lifesaving work and also allows us to keep my father’s founding promise that no family ever pays St. Jude for anything — not for treatment, travel, housing or food. That’s because we believe all a family should worry about is helping their child live. At St. Jude we will never stop searching for the cures that will save the lives of children everywhere.” Ms. Thomas is the National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

This past holiday season, more than 70 of America’s leading companies and brands including Kmart, Best Buy, Domino’s, ANN INC., Kay Jewelers, HomeGoods, Williams-Sonoma, Inc., New York & Company, AutoZone and Brooks Brothers as well as new partners Chili’s Grill & Bar, Mazda, The Limited and many more joined together in asking shoppers to support St. Jude through in-store and e-commerce initiatives, specialty merchandise and social media engagement. Kmart was the top fundraising partner for the sixth consecutive year.

“Kmart’s long history of success in supporting charitable causes is due to the generosity of our Shop Your Way members, customers and associates,” said Alasdair James, president and chief member officer at Kmart. “We’re proud of the impact our results have made for the families of St. Jude and thankful to St. Jude for its tireless work to defeat cancer and other diseases in children. St. Jude made holiday shopping at Kmart more rewarding and we’re excited to support an organization that clearly means so much to our members.”

Best Buy saw its total jump by nearly $9 million as a result of extending its campaign and implementing a donation ask with its credit card pin pad. Domino’s, a partner since 2004, had a record-breaking year raising more than $5.2 million. Domino’s continued to integrate St. Jude throughout its website and asked customers to make a donation during the ordering process.

In addition to Kmart, Best Buy and Domino’s, several partners raised more than $2 million during the 2014 St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign, including:

ANN INC. – $4.6 million through Ann Taylor, LOFT, Ann Taylor Factory and LOFT Outlet stores
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. – $3.9 million
New York & Company – $2.9 million
GNC – $2.7 million
AutoZone – $2.6 million
Brooks Brothers – $2.3 million
Dollar General – $2.1 million

Once again, the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign benefitted from week-long exposure on NBC’s TODAY show, which featured several in-depth stories chronicling the journeys of St. Jude patients and the discoveries that made them possible.

In addition, various aspects of the campaign saw record-breaking numbers. The St. Jude Give thanks. Walk., held in 65 cities across the country that serves as the official kick-off event for St. Jude Thanks and Giving, raised more than $8 million this year thanks to more than 66,000 people who came out to walk and show their support for St. Jude. The St. Jude Give thanks. Walk. had support from corporate partners including National Series Sponsors Target and American Airlines; as well as Gold Level National Teams Brooks Brothers, New York & Company, Chili’s Grill & Bar, Gymboree, AutoTrader.com and The Limited.

To learn more about St. Jude, please visit www.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. St. Jude has the world’s best survival rates for the most aggressive childhood cancers, and treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since we opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90 percent in the next decade. St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs we make, 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 or following St. Jude on facebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude.