MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PGA TOUR star Jordan Spieth and his wife, Annie, kicked off FedEx St. Jude Championship week with a special visit: a personal tour of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® where they presented a check for $500,000 on behalf of the Jordan Spieth Family Foundation.
The foundation named St. Jude a 2024 Community Partner and awarded the grant to support research and treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the second most common form of childhood leukemia after acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This is the first grant received by St. Jude from the foundation, which includes pediatric cancer as one of four funding pillars in tribute to friends and family affected by childhood cancer.
“When we had the opportunity to start the Jordan Spieth Family Foundation, we just wanted to find a way to help as many families as possible,” said Jordan. Annie added, “Our family has seen the insufferable impacts of Pediatric Cancer, and this investment into AML is personal for us. After years of visiting with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, we have come to trust not only their breadth of knowledge and best in class research and treatments, but we see and feel their mission for worldwide progress.”
Following the check presentation, the Spieths learned more about the lifesaving work happening at St. Jude with a personal tour that included stops at a research lab focusing on AML and The Domino’s Village, the newest patient family facility which offers short- and long-term housing. They also heard from two St. Jude cancer survivors, one of whom was treated at St. Jude for AML.
“Jordan is an incredible competitor on the golf course — and he and Annie have hearts of gold when it comes to using their platforms to give back to the community. We've seen it up close here at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital," said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. "We are honored to be selected as a 2024 Jordan Spieth Family Foundation Community Partner. This generous commitment will fuel research to accelerate progress toward cures for acute myeloid leukemia and other childhood cancers while helping ensure that families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – so they can focus on helping their child live.”
Since opening its doors in 1962, St. Jude has helped bring the survival rate for children in the United States with ALL from 4% to 94%. However, progress with AML has been slower. The five-year United States survival rate for childhood AML is about 70%, and current therapeutic approaches continue to cause short- and long-term toxicities in a significant portion of childhood cancer survivors.
With the grant from the Jordan Spieth Family Foundation, as well as support from fellow generous donors, St. Jude researchers can gain a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms that underlie AML’s formation and why AML resists current therapies. New knowledge will help St. Jude researchers develop more precise therapies that target cancer cells while limiting short- and long-term toxicities to normal cells.
The Spieths are no stranger to supporting St. Jude patients, having spent time during previous FedEx St. Jude Championship weeks engaging with St. Jude families. His second-ever PGA TOUR appearance, in 2010 at age 16, was at the Memphis event which has helped generate more than $72 million for St. Jude since 1970. After Jordan won the 2015 FedExCup Playoffs, Memphis-based FedEx made a $1 million donation to St. Jude in Jordan’s name.
Spieth is among the 70 players qualifying for this year’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, which opens the 2024 FedExCup Playoffs when play begins on Thursday, August 15.
Donate to help St. Jude families or bid on exclusive items at StJude.org/BirdiesAuction.
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. When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was considered largely incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate from 20% to more than 80%, and it won't stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes to help doctors and researchers at local hospitals and cancer centers around the world improve the quality of treatment and care for even more children. Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Support the St. Jude mission by donating at stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.
About the Jordan Spieth Family Foundation
The Jordan Spieth Family Foundation is committed to our mission of using our platform to lend time, help grow awareness and grant financial support for four philanthropic pillars that mean a great deal to the Spieth family: individuals with specials needs, junior golf, military families and veterans and pediatric cancer. Through annual community partnerships, we look for opportunities that are directly impacting our mission families by removing barriers and making strides toward sustainable change.
