Bourbon Raffle Benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in children under the age of 15 in the United States.  The American Cancer Society estimates that 10,270 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in children alone, and of that number 1,190 will not survive.

​In 2003 that seemingly small percentage became a reality in Brian and Chris Bauer’s lives when their daughter Anna was just 3 years old and diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.  When the doctors at the local hospital had done all that they could for her, Brian and Chris took Anna to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis Tennessee to participate in a clinical trial.  From the moment they stepped onto the campus the staff took care of not only Anna but their entire family (compassionate care for Anna, a family counselor, a place to stay, etc.).  St. Jude was always there to do what they could to help them.  Anna did not survive her cancer and passed away at just 4 years old.

​Brian and Chris have made it their mission to do whatever they can to help other children and their families in their own struggles.  In Anna’s memory, they formed a fundraising team named “Anna’s Flying Pigs” (on her way to radiation treatments, Anna used tell her parents that she saw pigs in the clouds).  Your purchase of raffle tickets can provide so much for another child fighting cancer and for the future of our children.

–  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

–  Treatments discovered at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened more than 50 years ago.  But as I heard a patient’s mother say, “80% survival is great, but when your child is in the 20% it isn’t good enough”.