St. Jude’s Children’s Hosiptal and PR

 

St. Jude's Children's Hospital is located in Memphis, TN

Today, as I was watching my favorite T.V. show, Jon and Kate Plus 8 on TLC, I had a sudden change of heart.  On this episode, the mother and father of 8 accompanied their children to the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.  After watching the episode my heart was drawn towards helping others, and I’m lucky enough to have picked a major such as PR that makes it possible for me to do so. 

  I did a little research around the St. Jude’s website to see what kind of PR material they had.  I looked at numerous press releases about an “Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Team was recognized with a prestigious science award” and another one on “St. Jude finds more than 100 gene variations linked with response to leukemia treatment.”   These press releases included a bolier plate at the end, which is something we learned about in class last week. 

  Not only were there press releases on the website, but also a media toolbox with directions to the hospital, media guidelines for the campus, and patient privacy and rights.  There was also a media kit for the campagin Chili’s was doing to help out the hospital.  Chili’sis my favorite restaurant, and I remember going in and the waitress always asking me if I wanted to color a picture of a chili for a dollar, this money was going towards St. Jude’s.  Here is a Public Service Announcement about the Chili’s Campaign:

  After reading these press releases and witnessing an actually media kit I realized that while I am still interested in the sports world of PR, I am going to begin to look into other organizations.  Organizations such as the Red Cross are beginning to spark my interest so that I can help those who are not as blessed as I have been. 

   St. Jude’s has recruited celebrities, athletes, and normal citizens to help get the message to the world about the importance of St. Jude’s mission.  This is just another way of public relations working for the benefit of these young children.  Here is an example of the celebrities speaking out on behalf of St. Jude’s:

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