Thank you for joining us on Saturday, May 9, 2026, for the inaugural St. Jude Beacon of Light gala hosted at the iconic Raffles Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. This event brought together Boston’s most distinguished philanthropists for an intimate experience featuring a gourmet dinner paired with fine wines and craft cocktails, an inspiring story from a St. Jude patient family, live entertainment, a live auction, and meaningful moments that illuminate the power of giving.
All proceeds from this event benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, where families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — so they can focus on helping their child live.
Matching gifts are an easy way to increase your donation to St. Jude — at no additional cost to you! Many employers support your altruistic efforts by offering matching gift programs to your favorite charities. Check if your employer will match your gift to St. Jude or contact us at matchinggifts@stjude.org.
For information on sponsorship and volunteer opportunities at this next year's event, please contact Siobhan Dunn at siobhan.dunn@alsac.stjude.org.
St. Jude patient Mayela
St. Jude provides comprehensive care and health equality for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. We tailor treatment for each child's unique needs, improving outcomes for some of the world’s sickest children.
St. Jude patient Mayela
Choose the right planned gift for you
St. Jude patient Han, pictured with family
IRA charitable contributions
If you're 70 ½ or older, you can contribute to St. Jude from your IRA and potentially receive tax benefits. You can have your IRA administrator use our sample letter.
St. Jude patient Nora Kay
Donor-advised funds
You can recommend a grant from your donor-advised fund by calling your fund manager or by signing in to your granting institution and selecting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
St. Jude patient Maelin-Kate
Gifts of stock
When gifting stock, you can reference our transfer form, or call us at (800) 395-4341 to inform us of your gift, so we can properly acknowledge your gift and provide you with a tax receipt.
St. Jude patient Franser
Charitable gift annuities
Charitable gift annuities may interest you if you want to transfer cash or securities to St. Jude and receive lifetime payments for yourself or a loved one.
Thank you to our event chairs
Kiki and Drew Shilling
St. Jude stories from New England
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In a year, this MIT student athlete went from brain cancer at St. Jude to mentoring Boston high schoolers
He’s busy as a student at MIT and member of the rowing team, but this St. Jude survivor has a heart for helping — he mentors high schoolers in his spare time.
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No Boston Marathon to run, so a St. Jude Hero rounds up his family for a neighborhood relay-style race
Scott Kruse had qualified for his first Boston Marathon, but then the world changed and the global pandemic put a halt to large gatherings. But a hero’s got to be heroic in these times. So Kruse, forced to walk, not run, for exercise these days because of a back injury, had an idea.
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Rhode Island couple streams cooking show with a pinch of silly for St. Jude
"We’re not famous or special, we just wanted to give our time and effort for something we care about."
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Maine woman runs through pain of cancer for St. Jude kids facing their own marathons
Sarah Emerson knew what it was like to support cancer patients through her fundraising for St. Jude. That support flowed back to her, when she needed it most.
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Vermont runner eyes 103 marathons, $100K for St. Jude
Once Sue Kessler started running, she didn’t want to stop. Then she discovered a way to bring extra meaning to all those marathons — running as a St. Jude Hero.
Get involved locally
Find additional events, volunteer opportunities and more ways to connect with St. Jude supporters throughout Connecticut, Maine, the Boston area, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
