TAMPA, Florida — More than 2,000 runners hit the road Saturday morning in downtown Tampa, a crowd cheering them on as part of the annual St. Jude Walk/Run for childhood cancer research.
The annual run takes place in cities across the nation, helping raise money for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, with the ultimate goal of finding cures and saving the lives of kids across the country.
While the hospital is located in Memphis, Tennessee, the impact of its mission is wide-reaching, and its work hits close to home for many local families.
Plant City grandmother Linda Fales was joined by more than 70 family members and even more of her Suncoast Credit Union coworkers from Suncoast Credit Union, as part of “Avery’s Army.” Fales’ 13-year-old granddaughter Avery has been a patient at St. Jude since June battling cancer.
“I think a lot of people have the perception, because it’s in Memphis, you don’t have connections with it, but really St. Jude is every community’s hospital,” Fales said. “We are blessed. We are grateful. We are humbled by the love and support that has surrounded us.
"The world is a crazy place and all too often the negative is all we see. Today, proved there is still so much good in this world. There are people that step up to support families they have never met,” Fales wrote of the support shown Saturday.
“Our Avery is so brave and strong. She is handling everything thrown at her with such courage and grace,” she added.
The impact of St. Jude is immeasurable and so are the stories of lives, saved. Just ask Christina Grimsley, whose son, Caleb “The Superhero” a local kid from Brandon, went to St. Jude for a rare and aggressive brain tumor.
After five years, two brain surgeries and 142 doses of chemo, Caleb is now thriving.
“Caleb today is 8 years old, he’s doing amazing, he’s a super strong, amazing kid and we have St. Jude to thank for that,” Grimsley added.
Tampa’s walk surpassed its fundraising goal of $250,000. If you’d like to continue supporting the mission, click here.