Meet Hollis Belger: Her soccer ball juggling skills are driving support for St. Jude 

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Juggling a soccer ball has long been California resident Hollis Belger’s way of bringing people together and raising awareness and funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®.

Now, with the world watching the biggest international soccer tournament of 2026, the Stanford college student is energized by the possibility of pushing her Juggling for Jude initiative toward a new milestone: $1 million raised for St. Jude in time for next year’s global women’s soccer tournament. Belger’s fundraisers, which started more than a decade ago, have already helped raise more than $855,000 for the research hospital.

 “I have been trying to get to $1 million for years,” said Belger. “The women’s world (soccer tournament) is next summer, and I thought how incredible it would be — my senior year in college, one of the last big things before I enter the adult world — that I go for the $1 million.”

Belger was just 9 years old when she turned her love for soccer juggling — keeping the ball in the air with just your feet — into a powerful fundraiser.

Back then, she recalled, she had done a school project where she researched St. Jude, its history and the motivation of its founder, Danny Thomas, to open a hospital to treat children with catastrophic illnesses, regardless of a family’s race, religion or ability to pay. She liked that families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food. 

Her mother also shared a passion for the research hospital’s work. Belger explained that her parents had always encouraged her and her sister to give back — and that tradition of giving inspired her to launch Juggling for Jude. 

That first summer, she raised $34,000 by juggling a soccer ball in exchange for donations. She then took her juggling on the road, performing at parades, charity golf tournaments and other events.

In 2021, Belger achieved a personal best, 7,157 consecutive juggles, and won through 76 minutes of non-stop soccer juggling.  

How does she keep the ball in the air for so long?

“You can't get that many juggles in a row — that number of juggles in a row — if you're not thinking about something bigger than yourself,” she said. “It’s such a reminder and a grounding place for me. And it always has been to think about every single interaction with a patient and a family that I've ever had.” 

She didn’t know anyone treated at the research hospital when she first started to fundraise. That changed during her second summer of Juggling for Jude, when she met a patient.

“She was my age. And to see her as this mirror image gave St. Jude a face and a name. It changed my perspective on everything,” Belger explained.

“I will remember that day for the rest of my life. And it just completely sent Juggling for Jude on a whole new path for me,” she added. “It wasn't just going to be a summer project, but it was going to be a lifelong mission and purpose.”

Since then, Belger has met more patients and received letters from others — each of them with their own story, each of them reminding her of the importance of her efforts for St. Jude. 

“Every story is different and it's been just an honor,” she said. 

Recently, Belger met Ramon Hernandez, who had been treated for leukemia as a child at St. Jude. Hernandez, now working as a paralegal, is a fellow soccer enthusiast who also fundraises for the research hospital. Among the fundraisers he has participated in was a Juggling for Jude challenge. 

  “To see someone have such a successful life trajectory after everything he went through was so, so cool,” she said, noting how meaningful it was for her to meet patients now living full, adult lives. “We bonded over a love of soccer, but even more so by connecting with him on such an adult level. It was special.”

At age 13, Belger was named the 2018 SheBelievesHero by U.S. Soccer and the U.S. Women’s National Team. The recognition allowed her to travel to New Jersey and meet the members of the U.S. Women’s National Team, including Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, and then-coach Jill Ellis.

“I was actually freaking out, and my mom was freaking out even more because she’s even a bigger fan than I am,” she recalled, noting her mom had played soccer at Dartmouth College.

Belger’s fundraising hasn’t always been easy, but that hasn’t stopped her from continuing to draw support. During the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent  shutdowns, Belger conducted virtual juggling lessons on social media and along the way encouraged people to follow her lead. She continues to do that today.

“I go around now speaking at elementary, middle and high schools — really anyone who will listen. I tell them, ‘I was literally juggling in my backyard, and here’s where I am today. You can do it, too.’”