Unlike other hospitals, St. Jude does not have an emergency room. The majority of St. Jude’s funding comes from generous donors. It costs about $2.4 million per day to operate St. Jude. The public donations provide more than 75 percent of the necessary funds to operate the hospital. Mr. Thomas began raising money for the hospital in the early 1950s (St. Jude, 2017). By 1955, Mr. Thomas and the Memphis business leaders began local fundraising efforts. Mr. Thomas also wanted to get the word out across the country about what he was doing, so he enlisted the support of everyone he could. Often, Mr. Thomas and his wife would crisscross the United States, speaking to any groups that would listen about his dream to build St. Jude Children’s Research
