Care to Play? Carnival Cruise Lines Brings Smiles to St. Jude

Carnival Cruise Lines is all about having fun, and sometimes, that means bringing the good times on shore to people who need a smile more than most: the children of St. Jude.

The kids at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are fighting for their lives…literally…and sometimes, they need a bit of an escape.

Enter the “Day of Play”, an event that Carnival Cruise Lines brings to the hospital grounds in Memphis, Tennessee, so that the children and their families can spend an afternoon at their impromptu carnival.

The cruise line is the “Official Celebration Partner for St. Jude”, which pretty much means it has the dubious distinction of bringing smiles to as many faces at St. Jude as possible.

They do it with their “Day of Play”, where children are treated to Dr. Seuss book readings (the cruiseline recently launched a ‘Seuss at Sea’ program which features family dining and entertainment fun inspired by Dr. Seuss), a Seuss-a-palooza parade, fun snacks, photo booths and more. I was able to witness this firsthand during a recent visit to St. Jude and can tell you, it’s good to feel the fun energy in the room.

But there’s more. When a St. Jude patient celebrates their birthday, Carnival brings the cake.

Carnival also supports the annual St. Jude Teen Formal, similar to a prom, where patients can put on their finest and dance to a DJ with their friends.

Beyond all of that, Carnival gathers donations from guests who want to contribute to the children of St. Jude as part of its ‘Care to Play’ campaign. Combined, they’ve already contributed more than $8-million dollars…yes, eight million! And, they’ve set a goal to raise another $10 million in the next five years! St. Jude’s mission is ‘Finding Cures. Saving lives.’ That’s pretty serious business, and every dollar helps.

If you’d like to contribute, too, here’s a link to a donation page set up through Carnival.
After all, Carnival’s motto is Fun for All. And All for Fun.

Need a little motivation? Well, Markell will give it. He’s pretty much a superstar in my book. I think it’d be impossible to hear the struggle he faces and not want to put a bigger smile on his face.

[hana-code-insert name=’markell’ /]