Your generosity helped break records AGAIN this year. You won't believe how much was raised for the kids at St Jude. The big hearts of Central New Yorkers continue to amaze us every year.

Day One broke a record, raising more than in 2024.

$35,296.00

Day Two

The trend continued for Day Two. Everyone came together to raise over $90,000 for the 2024 Country Cares St Jude Radiothon, presented by Drain Masters.

$95,012

You have helped raise more than a HALF A MILLION DOLLARS over the past 8 years!!! We can't thank you enough.

You can still give online if you didn't get a chance during the two-day radiothon.

Who You Help

Your support is helping save kids' lives from around the world, including right here in Central New York. Several children are living healthy, happy lives thanks to the life-saving research being done at St Jude.

Ahmed Merdanovic

14-year-old Ahmed Merdanovic battled 4 brain surgeries before he even became a teenager for a softball-sized tumor in his brain. The fifth was the one that helped save his life thanks to St Jude.

Ahmed spent 10 weeks at the hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. He'll return to St. Jude for a follow-up but mom is hopeful. "His residual brain tumor is small and stable," said Jennifer. "He continues to lead a happy, healthy life, enjoying school, friends, and family."

Anna Jones of Remsen

The future is bright for Anna Jones of Remsen who suffered a rare brain tumor when she was only 12 years old. She was diagnosed with craniopharyngioma after a fall but eight years later Anna remains cancer-free thanks to St Jude.

Anna returns to St Jude every year as part of their aftercare treatment program. "St. Jude is still our saving grace and a donation to St. Jude is a life saved, whether it’s with treatment or the research they share with the world."

Vincent Russitano of Syracuse

Vincent Russitano was a typical 7-year-old boy who loved climbing trees, playing baseball, and running around like a crazy kid. On October 15, 2008, everything changed.

That's when Vincent's second-grade teacher, who his mom Kristie calls his guardian angel, believed he had a visual processing issue.

A visit to the eye doctor showed large optic nerves and an MRI discovered a brain tumor.

Vincent was immediately sent to Upstate University in Syracuse where he underwent surgery. "We were advised that it would be a couple of weeks before we had biopsy results," said Kristie. "It was sent to other hospitals to be evaluated, one of those hospitals was St. Jude."

Three rounds of chemo and five years later Vincent is doing well. He's working full-time and is a dad to an amazing Red Tick/Australian Shepard named Rooster. "The drastic difference in the type of chemotherapy treatment my son received from when he was 7 to when he was 16 was amazing. The difference is because of research projects at St Jude funded from fundraisers."

Andrew Reppel of Utica

Doctors found cancer wrapped around Andrew Reppel's spine. St Jude created a new protocol to treat the Utica 6-year-old. That boy is now in his 20s and the Reppel family owes it all to St Jude. "I guess what I felt was thank you. Thank you Danny Thomas for being a man who made a difference," said Andrew's father, Stephen. "If you ever wondered if your dollar really did do what they say it does, I would tell you it does."

More Research

Treatments invented at St Jude Children's Research Hospital have pushed the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to over 80% since it opened in 1962. But St Jude won't stop until no child dies from cancer like Colin in Ithaca and Zachary in Buffalo.

Colin Hayward

Colin Hayward of Ithaca was cancer-free for five years, enjoying life to the fullest and leaving a lasting impression on everyone he met. Unfortunately, he passed away peacefully on St Patrick's Day, March 17, 2017, surrounded by his family.

Even though St Jude couldn't save Colin from the tumor wrapped around his brain, his dad Ian says he'll always support the hospital and their mission, because they gave his family something no one else could. Time. "It's hard to put a dollar value on a life and time spent. St Jude gave me 9 more precious years with my son. How do you quantify that? As sick as Colin was, they were able to help him in a way where most of his life was miraculous."

Zachary Dievendorf

Zachary Dievendorf of Buffalo lived for 13 years. His memory lives on through his sister who became a nurse in Buffalo in his honor.

Zachary died from a rare tumor on his brain stem. But his family is grateful. Grateful they got 7 extra precious months thanks to St Jude Children's Research Hospital. "They were the best and worst months of our lives," said Zachary's sister Sarah. "We're just so grateful for St Jude and all the time they gave us. We were so fortunate to be with my brother when he took his last breath. He knew how much we loved him and we knew how much he loved us."

Sarah continues to keep his memory alive and raise awareness for the tumor that took his life. "There is no cure. They are still researching. They don't know much about it even after all these years. I'll keep fighting for every kid until there is no pediatric cancer."

Thank You Gifts

To thank you for supporting St Jude Children's Research Hospital and becoming a Partner in Hope, you'll have the honor of joining the country community with a 'This Shirt Saves Live ' t-shirt and a 'Music Gives to St Jude Kids' hoodie.