ALSAC

In 1957, founder and entertainer Danny Thomas established the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC) as a way of securing the necessary financing and awareness for what is now St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The organization’s sole objective is to raise the funds, as well as the public consciousness, required to operate and sustain this lifesaving hospital. Even before construction was complete on St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, ALSAC began funding research to ... cure childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. In 1958, ALSAC presented its first major grant to pathologist Lemuel Diggs, MD to continue his work, resulting in the world’s first comprehensive study of sickle cell disease. ALSAC and St Jude are dedicated to ensuring that no child is denied care because of ethnicity, religion, or financial status. Since its inception, ALSAC has raised 80% of the funding needed to operate and support the hospital's lifesaving mission. Largely enabled by the fundraising efforts of ALSAC, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has become one of the largest pediatric oncology centers in the world, treating over 8,500 children each year. Headquartered alongside St. Jude in Memphis, Tennessee, ALSAC is led by current President and CEO Richard Shadyac. To learn more about how ALSAC and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are working to treat and prevent childhood cancer, visit: https://www.stjude.org/.More