Seventh annual Day of Play
The announcement was made Wednesday at the St. Jude campus in Memphis, during Carnival’s seventh annual Day of Play where patient families were treated to activities hosted by the line’s team members. The Day of Play was held in conjunction with Carnival’s hotel directors conference, where the leaders responsible for the guest operations on the fleet’s 26 ships traveled to St. Jude for business meetings and a tour of the hospital.
Additional $15m pledged
At the event, Carnival announced an additional $15m pledge to the hospital over the next five years after achieving its initial fundraising goal early. Since the partnership began in 2010, Carnival has raised more than $18m in support of St. Jude’s mission to find cures and save children.
‘Because of the generosity of our guests and team members, we are able to increase our fundraising goal and look forward to continuing to support our friends at St. Jude,’ said Carnival President Christine Duffy, a member of the St. Jude Professional Advisory Board.
Inspiring visit
It was the second year in a row that Carnival took a group of shipboard leaders to see the work of St. Jude. I know our hotel directors will leave Memphis inspired to do more for the kids and the health professionals who take care of them as we look for new ways to integrate our support into our shipboard and shoreside activities,’ Duffy said.
‘We’re so grateful for the wonderful partnership we’ve built with Carnival, their remarkable team members and their generous guests over the years, and we look forward to continuing our collective efforts to ensure that 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,’ said Richard Shadyac Jr., president and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude.
Duffy also announced that Carnival’s new ship arriving next year, Mardi Gras, will feature a sculpture and other artwork designed by St. Jude patients.
