Dec. 4, 2015 – May 8, 2016 
Main Floor Gallery

More than 75 years ago, a struggling young entertainer prayed in a Detroit church to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes. “Show me my way in life,” vowed Danny Thomas, “and I will build you a shrine.” His career took a turn for the better and, in the years that followed, flourished through films and television.

Drawing upon his faith and his Lebanese Syrian heritage, he rallied support from family, friends and fans to create a shrine to another seemingly hopeless cause — defeating cancer in children. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital ® opened in Memphis, Tenn., in 1962.

Since then, treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent. And 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.

This exhibition was created by American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.