The Power of Collective Generosity: A Conversation with Rick Shadyac of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

4:10PM Dec 21, 2023

Speakers:

Becky Endicott

Jonathan McCoy

Rick Shadyac

Keywords:

jude

rick

mission

danny thomas

years

jude children's research

good

incredible

today

world

hospital

survival rates

jon

becky

raise

children

kids

created

podcast

community

Hey, I'm Jon.

And I'm Becky.

And this is the We Are For Good podcast.

Nonprofits are faced with more challenges to accomplish their missions and the growing pressure to do more, raise more and be more for the causes that improve our world.

We're here to learn with you from some of the best in the industry, bringing the most innovative ideas, inspirational stories, all to create an Impact Uprising.

So welcome to the good community. We're nonprofit professionals, philanthropists, world changers and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.

So let's get started. Becky, how are ya?

Hello, Jon! Happy 2024 friends and Welcome to season nine. And our 500th episode on the weird for good podcast. You know, that is we are kicking off this year and this season. We had to go big and we are bringing somebody in in this incredibly serendipitous moment where we're celebrating 500 episodes to talk about collective generosity with a powerful mission that we all know, adore and admire. It is our great honor to be joined today by Rick Shadyac. He is the president and CEO of ALSA which is the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Jon. It's been 500 episodes. But do you remember episode number nine?

I do.

With Mary Kate Tolan.

Our first Ungettable Get. We were so excited.

Oh my gosh, that was it feels like 100 years ago. We've also talked to Stephen Hackett, we've had so many great conversations about the incredible innovation and work that exist at St. Jude. And we're going to dive into that today because St. Jude is leading the way on the way that the world understands treats and defeats childhood cancers and other life threatening diseases. And as the top health care charity in the U.S. ALSAC employs more than 1500 team members who operate from its headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, and in territories and offices across the country. And we got to pause and say, our incredible producer in unicorn, Julie confer was one of those. She was an intern back in the day. And she I mean, we've been walking down the streets of New York City and San Francisco, she is wearing her St. Jude hat, she is wearing all of her swag. And she is one of the rabid fans that is really ignited by this mission. And we just really appreciate going deeper into what makes ALSAC and St. Jude's so special. And we want to lift this incredible quote from Danny Thomas, who's the founder of St. Jude, because it just feels Jon like it's more poignant now than ever before. "I'd rather have a million people give me $1 than one give me a million. That way, you've got a million people who are involved." This perfectly sets the tone for this conversation, which is going to be about innovation, and the transformative power of collective generosity that Rick and his team get to see. Every single day. Rick, you have this amazing, unique connection to St. Jude. Welcome to the We Are For Good podcast. We are utterly delighted you're here.

Thank you, Becky. And Jon, it's a privilege for me to be with you. Thank you for all those kind words that you said about the mission.

Well, I just think that all of us have a moment where we remember the time we first discovered St. Jude, I can tell you I was seven years old at a slumber party and I was with a friend who had a TV in a room. And I started watching this very long story about St. Jude on there. And I remember feeling changed by that. But we want to know about the human beings behind this incredible mission. And we want to start with you. And so tell us about little Rick, growing up. Tell us about kind of being in the wake of this as it's building and how it led you to where you are today. We want to hear that story.

Well Becky I was actually very privileged to grow up around St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. So my father was one of the persons back in the 1950s before there was St. Jude that Danny Thomas approached to help him build St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. My dad did not know Danny Thomas. He was a Department of Justice lawyer in Washington DC but we shared the same heritage. We're Lebanese as is Danny Thomas. And so Danny Thomas went around the country asking men and women that were Lebanese to help him build St. Jude and they were forming this organization called ALSAC which stands for American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities. And the organization exists solely to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. And my my dad told me, once I became old enough to kind of understand all this, he said, we really just asked one question to Danny, why are we going to do this? And then he looked him in the eye and he said we're doing this to say thank you to God and the United States of America for giving their parents my grandparents the opportunity to come to this country and to make a life. So we were paying this back to the United States by creating St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. And then he also said that we want to put this in Memphis, Tennessee, a segregated city at the time. Because we want to address healthcare inequity, we want to make sure that children of all races have access to specialty quality health care. And we're going to take the economics completely out of the equation, because no family was ever going to receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food. My parents heard that story. They signed up immediately. And my dad went on to serve this mission for over 50 years before he passed away, there. And now here I am. And I've been the CEO for 15 years. And I, you know, I had the benefit of getting on the board. As a young professional. I was a lawyer in Washington, DC as well, for 27 years before I was asked to ultimately serve this mission to be the CEO. I was on the board for a number of years before that.

Danny Thomas was so ahead of his time, can we talk about that. Holy smokes.

Seriously and I'm just thinking like the power of vision, you know, like the the clarity of vision that not only captured people's hearts from the beginning, but now all these years later is still enraptured you and your life and how you've poured in and made the decisions in your life.

Yeah, you know, the thing that I've always been fascinated by, he had a 10th grade education. So I think about that all the time. So probably pretty much everyone that's listening to us, absent the kids. You're more educated than the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. But this man truly was a visionary way ahead of his time, he was a deeply compassionate man, I had the privilege of getting to know him, he actually used to stay at my parents house, my house when we were growing up, I've got great pictures of him walking me into church. And so you know, fascinating stuff. And, and, you know, I just was always struck by his compassion, and his ability to relate to everyone. He knew that the cafeteria worker, the environmental services worker at St. Jude was just as important as the doctor that was treating the child in the clinic. And that's how he treated everybody here. And I think that really has allowed our culture to continue to foster, we've always built off of that, you know, Danny envisioned a hospital that had a single cafeteria, for instance, where all of us ate together. You know, we've gotten a little bit bigger now. So that is reality anymore. But that tells you a lot about the person that created St. Jude and that decision to intentionally place St. Jude in a segregated city. And for all of our listeners, let's put this in historical context. This is six years before Dr. King tragically comes to our city and is assassinated. And when we opened the doors on day one children of all races were welcomed. And it was one of the few places in the south. And there's a great quote, where an African American man could wear a tie, come to work and work alongside of a white person. And that was what St. Jude Children's Research Hospital was. Just incredible.

And it makes me think Jon of our first core value of our company, which is everyone matters. And the fact that St. Jude story, I really encourage if you don't know Danny Thomas's story of how he started and funded St. Jude, and he was like down to some of his last dollars and what he what he did to make that ripple and become exponential, it was all grounded in equity, and kindness and love. It's just a just an incredible iconic story.

I mean, your head went where mine was Becky, I mean, everyone matters radiates from the We Are For Good community, I think centering equity and making sure that we're perpetuating that and how our mission plays out is so critical. And so today's conversation, we want to tap your brain about innovation and just how you think differently about the space and the world and the sector. And so I want to start there, can you give the listeners and us just a lens into this unique operating model that really is the basis from which operate today?

Well, the the operating model is, is totally unique. So Danny Thomas, again, in his wisdom created two separate organizations, okay, that doesn't exist for the most part in the philanthropic space. So ALSAC was put into existence in 1957, created to raise the money and to create the awareness, raise the money then to build St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Our job today is to make sure that we raise literally billions of dollars with a B to support St. Jude. And then St. Jude would be focused on taking care of kids, finding cures for these kids, conducting research. So Danny Thomas's idea was that let the business people focus on the business. They don't, we don't want the scientists and the doctors worried about money. Let's let's put a separate organization that's going to make sure that we have the resources to take care of these kids, and to do the research that's necessary to find cures. So it was a laser focus for each organization and It has allowed us to literally thrive. And that's, you know, we're one of the largest charities, we're the largest health care charity in terms of cash for one of the second or third largest charities, you know, we have at ALSAC, we have an obligation to raise over $2.5 billion to hospital operating and capital budget is more than $2 billion per year,

I'm getting a little sweaty as a former fundraiser I'm like ooohoo.

Becky, it's a lot but, you know, you talk about for the good. And this is what when people come together around a cause, we're blessed to have 12 million donors, when people come together around a cause. And they know that the dollars that they're donating are helping to operate a hospital to actually conduct research. We're not granting this, their donations are coming to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. And that's why I call St. Jude the People's Hospital, because they're operating it every single day.

I want to compliment you Rick because your passion comes through like from from the second you came in, before we even hit record, your joy radiates out from you. I look around your office on Zoom. And there's just pictures of people and kids handprints and it's like the, the way that the culture of who St. Jude is is baked into its people like I see that in Julie, I saw that in Mary Kate, I see that in you. And I think about and the times in my life that I've been, you know, in community with people who are fundraisers for St. Jude, and their office is fundraising for it as a group, their Tball team is fundraising for it and the connectivity, they have the belief system that they have, I would say you don't just have 12 million donors, you have 12 million believers who are going to bring and do whatever it takes to this movement. And I think that is the linchpin that's different to me about St. Jude and all and other nonprofits that are sort of just business as usual. I wonder if you have any thoughts on that?

Well, Becky, I will just say this to you. This mission changes you. You know, when you have the privilege of coming to work on this campus every single day, and seeing and meeting these families that come to us from all over the United States in the world, they come to us after receiving the worst possible news that a parent can receive their child has got a catastrophic illness, and they're trusting in this place to try to help their child and you get to know them. And they're, Becky, and Jon, they're no different than you and I okay. It's just bad luck, right. And you know, as you get to see these kids, you recognize that your children are no different. I have children, I'm blessed to have two grown kids that are that are healthy, I'm soon going to be a grandparent, which I'm super excited for

Congrats Rick.

My first grandchild. But But knowing these kids, some of them are going to make it. And I know that when I meet them, okay, because they have diseases that don't have cure rates, for instance. But some of them are going to make it and some of them are going to defy the odds. And now I've been here 15 years, and these kids are graduating, they're going to college. They're becoming young professionals. They're becoming moms and dads. Some of them are nurses here, some of them are doctors here, some of them are fundraisers here, that are incredible contributing members of our society, I'm going to, I'm going to to marriages now, I say their second miracles that are happening because some of our patients are actually having children of their own. I get to witness Becky and Jon, a former patient go to you know, go into space, as part of all the missions that we did that raised over $250 million. Jon you wanted to talk about innovation, we took a pretty big risk there in that partnership going into space. But wow, talk about something that people could gravitate towards. So Becky, it changes you. And it's such a privilege to be here. And every day, whenever I think I'm having a bad day, all I have to do is look up at my wall. And I've got four pictures of patients that have passed on. And they're my motivation every single day.

It all comes back to humanity. And I just want to keep going on this concept of community fundraising because I just think that you've done such a beautiful job of maintaining the strong connection with the community, with people who want to help. And I want you to talk to our audience about how important grassroots support is for your mission. Like talk about that and why it's so disruptive.

Look, without grassroots support, there would be no St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Our patients come to us from all 50 states from around the world. We want our communities all throughout the United States and the world to see themselves in St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. If you cannot come to St. Jude, we're going to want we want to do consultations for your, for your kids that need to stay within their communities. Our research is not confined to the labs here in Memphis, Tennessee, we share our research freely, we want to make sure that, yeah, we want to make sure that the discoveries that take place on this campus benefit kids all over the world. And you know, Becky, and Jon, what I want us all to think about today's is the progress that we've made because of the grassroot community movement that St. Jude Children's Research Hospital epitomizes, you know, the very first disease that we took on was called acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a survival rate of 4%. In 1962, when we opened our doors, it was deemed to be an incurable disease. But today, the survival rate, due in large part to the research and treatment conducted at St. Jude is 94%. And overall survival rates have gone from 20% to 80%. But here's the message. Now, we have to create a global grassroots movement, because around the globe, especially in low and low middle income countries, survival rates are what they were in the United States in 1962, 20%. So four and five children are going to die and that's completely unacceptable. We have a partially solvable problem here in the United States, still the leading cause of death by disease in U.S. kids today. But we need to do better globally. And that's why we've made a pledge with the World Health Organization to try to raise survival rates around the globe for the six most common forms of childhood cancer from 20% to 60%, by 2030. And we can only do that with the support of the public. And this year, we're going to be providing free cancer medications over the next five years to 120,000 of the 400,000 kids around the globe. And we genuinely believe that this will accelerate survival rates and help us get very close to that goal of a 60% survival rate, which still isn't good enough.

I mean, Rick, y'all are so dialed in on making an impact. And that's how people have said that you change a transactional donor into a believer, we talk about it all the time. And I gotta say, we're starting the season, and I've got chills of hearing you talk about this mission that has impacted all of us in some way in this country. And I think we started last season season eight with Seth Godin, who is challenging us that innovation has to be the core of how we exist in the nonprofit space, because we're solving for things that are not solvable yet. And I think y'all found some solutions. And you have created this incredible, innovative culture, you've spoken a little bit to it already. What do you think are some of the hallmarks of that? What are what are the pieces that leaders listening today can say, I really need to copy this out of Rick's brain and say, how do we infuse a culture of innovation in an organization today?

Well, we have a we have a saying here at St. Jude, and we say if not St. Jude, then who? If not St. Jude than who, okay. And we genuinely believe that we're kind of at that point where we have to do certain things, because, you know, we've got the we've got the academic and intellectual ability to do this. We've been blessed with the resources. So we believe we have a moral imperative to address some of these things. Look, the way I approach innovation with my team and is simple, okay, I say, challenge the status quo. Always ask a simple question. Why? If any of you ever give me an answer that says, because we always have I immediately go completely unacceptable, you probably shouldn't work here.

Man after our own heart.

Right? So we constantly are challenging the status quo. You know, there's another saying, you know, if you don't disrupt yourself, you're going to be disrupted, right? So you have to constantly think about disrupting yourself, anticipating these disruptions, anticipating change, and then formulating strategies to address those disruptions. I started a lot of my strategy meetings with what's called a steeple analysis, which basically just looks at social, technological, economic, environmental, those, it stands for those things, right. And then I require my team members to focus on whatever those things are. So what what in technology what what, in what, what with respect to the economy? What are we concerned about? What strategies do we have to address those potential disruptions? Okay, and when you think about technology, for instance, okay, obviously, we're all focused on AI and ML, but how will we embrace it? How will we use that to further there are efficiencies so that more money can actually go to the mission? How can we use predictive analytics here to better meet our donors where they are and to actually get to people that want to support pediatric cancer research or clinical care in the pediatric cancer space? So you start to think about incredible ways that this technology will enable us to actually be better organization. So if not St. Jude, then who? And then constantly asking that question why and challenging the status quo?

I mean, I think the fact that you have just incredible resources and incredible brand, but I think the linchpin is you guys care. I think that has always been at the bedrock, you care. And I can't help but just think about this new life that's coming into your world Rick, you have this grand baby coming in, and I know what a new baby a new life and what that means and the joy. And I want to know, what have you learned from this work about the power of generosity, and humanity? And how does that give you hope for this new life that's coming into the world?

You know, what a question. I think humanity is good, Becky, you know, what really troubles me is all the focus that we place on the negative things going on in the world. And we don't focus on all the beauty and the power of people coming together to do good. And there are so many people who are coming together to do good, but they do it quietly. People are living good lives, you know, I say to people live charitably. And I mean that that should be a lifestyle, charitable living should be a lifestyle. And what I try to tell my employees, and that that means, yeah, you donate to charity, but you also serve, okay, it also means that you love and that you have respect for your fellow human beings on the planet. It will make you feel better, it will make you be a better human being. And the thing that I love about living charitably, is that it's actually contagious. Okay, as we live, charitably, other people get the benefit of how we're living. And then they want to live that way. Because they can actually see the joy that it brings those of us that try to live charitably. So I just wish that there were more people, more podcasts like yours, more media out there that actually focused on the positive things that are going on in the world. Because there really are a lot of great things going on in the world, a lot of wonderful human beings who fly under the radar every single day, that are taking care of underserved communities all across the United States in the world. But there just isn't enough focus on that. And I think that if we had more focus, it would lift us all up and the world would be a better place.

I just want to adopt Rick, I want him to come sit at my Thanksgiving table, I want to have a bigger conversation with more people about how do we make generosity, gratitude, kindness, empathy? How do we make that ripple? Because I agree with you. So well said Rick.

I think that we can do it some you know, if we practice if we practice it, okay, and we truly live charitably, it is contagious, other people are going to pick up on it. And then all of a sudden, you you have that momentum, it's how we got to 12 million donors, it's how we're able to raise $2.5 billion, you know, we have, I think people really do relate to this mission. And we, we know that people understand that we don't want people to make healthcare decisions based upon how much money is in their bank account, or how good their health insurances that's just fundamentally wrong. Okay, and especially when it comes to children, because they haven't made any of these other decisions that you know, adults may make in their lives and things like that. These kids deserve the absolute right to grow up and realize their dreams of becoming a podcaster like Becky and Jon, or, you know, being an influencer or whatever they may want to do with with their life. And that's what this mission stands for giving these kids the opportunity to live their, their hopes and dreams,

Rick, we just see the same world and you know, you've picked up on the heartbeat of our podcast of what the good we wanted to put in this space. And it's very serendipitous that we're on episode 500. And we have consistently asked a similar same question since the very first episode and that was to invite you to take us back to a moment of philanthropy, and we don't talk about philanthropy is just the big money around here. We talk about those that like stirred our heart and hasn't left us. And so I'd kick it to you and say, Would you take us to a moment of philanthropy that's changed you and your journey?

Gosh, Jon, I have to tell you I've had so many to pick one would really, it would be difficult. But I have to come back to the kids again, because I just I love the lens that they see the world through. And there was a young, there was a young girl here by the name of Katie, who had a terminal cancer, and her dying wish to her parents was, this was called Katie's wish, to raise enough money to operate St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for a single day in her memory. That was her that was her dying wish. And her mom and dad reached out to us. And through a campaign that was put together, we were able to raise that much money that actually allowed St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to operate for a day in Katie's memory. And you know, that's just one child's story. I have piggy banks given to me, I have baggies with coins given to me by patients that will say, and this is a patient in treatment, who will say, Rick, I want you to give this to a really sick child, because I know that I am going to get better. You know. So those kinds of things, when those moments happen in your life, I promise, if you're not changed, there's something wrong with you as a human being. But oh, it's, I always go back to the kids because they do see the world and just through a beautiful, beautiful lens. And I think we can learn so much from kids.

I agree with you so much. I'm trying to pull my emotions together just thinking about Katie and and I just I think one of the great legacies is the generations that St. Jude allows to move forward. Healthy Kids that are able to grow up and be astronauts or be podcasters, or whatever it is. And I just think that is such a gift. And we roll up all of our conversations with one good thing. And I wonder what's one good thing you would offer to our audience, it could be a piece of advice, it could be a life hack. What's your one good thing, Rick?

I would say what I've said you already, because I feel so passionately about it live charitably, live charitably, you're gonna get more out of it than you put into it. And that means serving it does mean making donations. But fundamentally, it means living a life of love. Okay, a life with gratitude. And if we all practice gratitude, again, I think these kinds of things are actually contagious. And the world can become a better place when we do those very, very simple things. How hard is it to say, Becky and Jon, thank you for giving me the opportunity, the privilege of being on this podcast today? How hard is it to say, You know what, Kyle, thank you for being such an incredible employee, you really have made a difference in the mission of ALSAC. That's not hard. And it goes a long way, to helping people have positive attitudes about themselves, and ultimately about the world. It's not hard. And we can all do that. And when we do things like that we feel better as human beings. And we have a tendency to dwell less on on all of our problems.

I mean, Rick, this is the most beautiful way to start this year. And I think the idea of charitable is, is also the tenor of the community that surrounds this podcast. And I hope as we're starting this year, that that's how we extend grace to each other and help each other because we need each other for this next year, it's going to be a tough year, there's going to be challenges that come along, you'll have this ambitious strategic plan that's ahead of you all. And we need to lock arms in that and we need to feel supported and camaraderie and generosity at the core of it is the only way forward. So Rick, I want to give you the platform, you know, y'all, you know, there's a lot of ways to connect with St. Jude. I'm hoping there's people listening today that for the first time or make connecting the dots and want to get involved. What are some ways that they can support the organization right now, if you want to talk a little bit about the vision of what's ahead, just connect other ways for people to plug in with your mission right now?

Sure. So so the easiest way to plug in with our mission is to go to our website at St. Jude StJud.org. And you can make a donation there. We also have ways that people can serve. So we do events in communities all across the United States. I would invite people to attend those events, participate in those events. The St. Jude Memphis marathon just concluded we have 20,000 people here, we raised $8 million. You know, we do walk runs around the country. We do some pretty interesting things. And then you know, why? The why is because we're in the midst of a $12.9 billion expansion of our mission. It's a six year strategic plan. We're trying to raise survival rates for some of the most difficult to cure cancers. We're trying to accomplish this global goal of raising survival rates around the globe from 20% to 60% by 2030, giving free chemotherapy, cancer drugs to these kids all around the globe. We just had about 250 people here from over 60 countries that came to Memphis to train to learn about best practices and clinical care and also how to raise money we teach, we teach all the foundations from all these countries as well. So those are ways that you can engage with our mission. So again, just go right back to Stjude.org. That's stjude.org.

And I would say that Rick is inviting you into this movement that is baked in exactly why you're here. In the We Are For Good podcast you believe in good. You believe in sharing what you have in this world, you believe in abundance. And I just want to thank you, as we're closing out, Rick, because you have got to be the antithesis of the big CEO. You seem so relatable, you seem so caring, and kind. And I believe that that has a very deep and profound cultural ripple in what you're doing. And I just extend that invitation to everyone out, out who's listening and who feels compelled in this moment. It is 2024. We are standing in a time that could be as divisive as we've ever experienced. And I'm telling you to go down the road less traveled, go down this road was St. Jude, or whatever this road is that moves you choose to be charitable, choose to live in joy, choose to help others because that is how a movement of kindness of equity of caring that Danny Thomas had this vision for it's such an early age. That is how we become the change we want to see in the world. Rick, you always have a seat at my Thanksgiving table. We we extend healthy, beautiful tidings to your incoming grandbaby and every child and family who is in your care. Thank you for the way you walk through this world. It's amazing.

Becky and Jon, thank you for giving me the privilege of being on your podcast and I love what you all stand for. We Are For Good. We all are for good. God bless you. I look forward to sharing Thanksgiving with you.

I'll save the drumstick for you. Thanks Rick.

Take care you guys.

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