$1,000,000 Idea Speech: Background Information

EXERCISE TWO: BACKGROUND INFORMATION

 

            Saving a child’s life is worth far more than one million dollars, and by donating to the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Edina, Minnesota, I can be doing just that. St. Jude’s is a non-profit hospital that never charges a family for the care and treatment of a sick child. With that in mind, the hospital costs 1.8 million dollars to open and run every single day. Without public donations, St. Jude’s would not be possible. I have witnessed many cases of cancer in my family and with family friends. Seeing how painful the disease is, both physical and mentally, absolutely breaks my heart. No human, let alone a child, should have to endure cancer, and with progress by St. Jude’s, the survival rate in children with various forms of cancer has increased drastically through advanced research and treatment. This treatment is possible with donations. For every dollar given to St. Jude’s, 81 cents is donated to treatment and research for patients, which is why I would donate the entire sum to St. Jude’s.

            St. Jude’s has some of the top medical doctors in the United States working to progress research in childhood illnesses. Dr. Peter Doherty, an immunologist at St. Jude’s won the Nobel Prize in 1996 for development and understanding of viral infection and cancer treatments.  Aside from cancer, St. Jude’s is also treating childhood AIDS, and was the first institution to develop a cure for sickle cell disease via bone marrow transplant. The money I would be donating would be going into the hands of world-renowned doctors that have powerful capabilities in healing children. Knowing that St. Jude’s would be enabling children to survive these terrible diseases is reason enough to donate to their cause.

            I have never wanted to do anything more than to be a doctor. One of my main interests is oncology, which is the treatment and research of cancer. Having experienced that damage that cancer can do to people you love, it is important for me to make a career that can help people, and possibly save cancer patients. Cancer and other terminal illnesses are both aspects we may not be able to control getting; however, with development and research, they are becoming things we can slow down or terminate all together.  With continuous donations, I have full confidence that St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital can progress their research and advance their survival rates to even higher percentages in the years to come. While treating 260 patients each day, St. Jude’s is developing and progressing every day in hopes of ridding childhood cancer and catastrophic illnesses all together.

            There may be nothing more heart breaking than witnessing a child fighting a terminal disease, and as of today, there is not a full blown cure or prevention for these illnesses, and St. Jude’s wants to change that. Donating one million dollars to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital would not only be contributing to a phenomenal cause, it would be fueling a passion of mine, one that can save people’s lives. In a career, I have never wanted anything more than to help people, and I know by donating to St. Jude’s it could be a beginning to a wonderfully rewarding career.