DETROIT — Arab Americans have always shared a great sense of pride and ownership over St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The internationally renowned pediatric research and treatment facility was built by Arab Americans, proud of their heritage and anxious about giving back to the country that provided them with so much opportunity. 

Lebanese American entertainer, Danny Thomas, born Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz, is the founder of St. Jude. 

Since its inception in 1962, St. Jude has evolved into one of the best pediatric cancer hospitals in the country, and is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. St. Jude is the third largest healthcare related charity in the United States, and its national executive office is located in Memphis, Tennessee.

St. Jude Children’s Cancer Center in Beirut, Lebanon

“The beginning of this organization is about our community. There is a generation of Arab Americans right now who don’t know that, and we need to tell them about our heritage.  This is a very proud point for the community about what Danny Thomas and a group of fellow Arab Americans did in the sixties and seventies, and what it is today. 

They are part of an organization that does things for the right reasons, and no one can argue about doing things for a sick child,” said George Simon, former owner and president of U.S. Equipment, who’s served on the St. Jude Board of Directors and Governors for more than 20 years.  

Thomas was an American nightclub comedian, television and film actor and producer, whose career spanned five decades. He was best known for his role in the television sitcom, “Make Room for Daddy” which ran for more than a decade on major networks. 

The waiting room at CCCL in Beirut.

Thomas is the father of Marlo Thomas, an American actress, producer, and social activist, who starred in the popular American TV series “That Girl;” Tony Thomas, a television and film producer and Terre Thomas, an actress.

 Before rising to fame, Thomas, the son of Maronite Catholic immigrants from Lebanon, worked at a Syrian American grocery store in Toledo, while holding aspirations to become an entertainer, but challenges stood in his way. He had no money to get started, and didn’t know how. 

Thomas was originally from Deerfield, Michigan. The story of St. Jude began the day that Thomas walked into the St. Mary’s Church in Detroit and placed the last seven dollars he had in a box and prayed to St. Jude, who’s the patron of desperate and lost causes in Catholicism.

Thomas promised St. Jude that if he helped him find his way, he would build and dedicate a shrine to him in return, and within the span of only a couple days he got a job that paid back $70. “Very shortly afterwards, he got a job in Chicago, and then the rest is history,” Simon said. 

Danny Thomas kisses the toe of St. Jude Thaddeus as Mrs. Thomas looks on during the formal opening of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, February 4, 1962.

Still Thomas would never forget the commitment he made to St. Jude, and a few years later after he became a successful entertainer, he approached a cardinal in Chicago and told him he wanted to build a statue.  

“The cardinal said, ‘I don’t want a statue, I got statues everywhere.’ He said let’s do something more meaningful like start a clinic to help sick children,” Simon said.  

The cardinal was from Memphis, Tennessee and said the city was in desperate need of the clinic because it was poor. 

Eventually Thomas made a trip to Tennessee and met with community leaders, and soon afterwards, they began building a pediatric research center.  

Before getting started, Thomas sought out people to support the project, and formed the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC) in 1957. One of the group’s board members was Simon’s father, George Simon. 

Today, Simon is carrying on his father’s legacy of serving humanity through his work with St. Jude. He also currently sits on ALSAC’s board. ALSAC is the fundraising organization for St. Jude. 

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.

St. Jude requires $1.8 million in operating costs each day,  and more than 75 percent of that funding comes from the public. Thanks to donors, no family ever pays the Hospital for anything. 

To cover the costs, ALSAC raises more than $800 million annually for the Hospital, through its more than 34,000 fundraising activities. Seventy percent of operating costs for the hospital come from donations, and 30 percent come from government grants for research. 

Together, ALSAC and the hospital have been able to employ thousands of people. 

Thomas created ALSAC because he wanted to foster activities among Arab Americans, and promote their culture. 

“Danny Thomas wanted to take people of his heritage and give them a vehicle to give back to this great country. He was a firm believer that the United States gave immigrants from the Middle East such an opportunity in the time that he came over, that when we made it as a group or individuals, we had to find a way to give back to this great country,” Simon said. 

On February 4, 1962, Danny Thomas spoke to the assembled crowd at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for the formal opening of the hospital. “This is the greatest day of my life,” the television performer observed. “If I should die this minute, I would know why I was born.” Some 9,000 people turned out for the opening. PHOTO: Fred Griffith/The Commercial Appeal

In accordance to bylaws, 70 percent of the board members of St. Jude have to be of Arab American heritage, and 30 percent is comprised of people from different backgrounds. The company prides itself on diversity. 

Thomas built the Hospital on the premise that, “no child should die before the dawn of life.” 

Its mission has remained the same since its inception: Needy children will be cared for at no cost, regardless of race, religion or ability to pay.   

Before every ALSAC meeting a “board prayer” is recited that reaffirms the Hospital’s promise that it takes all children, and the board relies on God’s help in whatever form one finds his guidance. A passage in the prayer reads: 

“…By Thy love, we come before thee as Christians, Jews and Muslims, united in our love for Thee, united by Thy Fatherhood of us all,” united in our desire to serve Thee by bringing succor to the sick children of the world, the children of St. Jude…In all that we do, and especially in our deliberations, Oh Thou who gave us Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, bless us and guide us so that our stewardship is pleasing to Thee and to them…”  

St. Jude has various domestic and international affiliates, including one in Lebanon where Thomas traces his roots. 

The Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon was established in Beirut on April 12, 2002. The Center is an affiliate of St. Jude and works in association with the American University of Beirut Medical Center. 

Located on the campus of American University Hospital in Beirut, the Center consists of both inpatient and outpatient facilities. The 10,000-square foot outpatient clinic includes examination and recovery rooms, a treatment area, a satellite pharmacy, a laboratory, video conference room and a play area with computer outlets. 

The 8,000 square foot inpatient section on the hospital’s 10th floor, consists of 12 inpatient rooms, a play area and physicians’ offices. Leukemia is the most common pediatric cancers in Lebanon. Four out of every 100,000 Lebanese children are diagnosed with cancer each year, and 55 percent of these cases are leukemia. 

St. Jude also has a partnership with the King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman, Jordan. It treats over 3,500 new cancer patients each year.  

St. Jude’s discoveries and research are freely shared with the medical community around the world. Doctors and researchers from dozens of countries, including several from the Arab world, have trained at St. Jude. It takes physicians and nursing staff and brings them to St. Jude, to provide them with training on how to care for patients. 

When the Hospital was first established, only four percent of patients were surviving, now up to 94 percent are. The Hospital developed protocols that have helped push overall survival rates for childhood cancers from less than 20 percent, when the hospital opened in 1962, to 80 percent today. 

“So it has made a difference, we have made a huge difference,” Simon said. The Hospital’s research is shared around the world.  

To be admitted into St. Jude, you have to be under 18 and be diagnosed with a disease the Hospital treats and is studying. Patients must also be referred by their physician. Over the years, St. Jude has made a difference in the lives of disease stricken children and their families. One memorable incident Simon shared, involved over-hearing a woman tearing up outside of the Hospital, while speaking on the phone. He remembers hearing her say, ‘She’s cured.’ 

“The tone of voice, the relief and the joy that that parent had…Anyone who is a parent knows that you’ll do anything for your offspring. When you here somebody say, my child is going to make it, after having gone through the worrying and suffering, you know what that means to them.” 

To join St. Jude’s mission, visit st.jude.org. For more information on its domestic affiliates, visit st.jude.org/domestic-affiliates. St. Jude is also on Facebook and Twitter.