Best Buy customers, staff donate $20 million to St. Jude

Best Buy customers and staff donated more than $20 million to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital last holiday season.

For the second consecutive year, the Richfield-based retailer finished as the top fundraiser for the Memphis hospital's "Thanks and Giving" campaign. All of the money raised goes to the hospital, a Best Buy spokesman confirmed.

Much of that money was raised through donations that customers made while paying for their purchases either online or in stores.

Best Buy joined St. Jude's holiday campaign five years ago and has dramatically increased its fundraising, from $900,000 in its first year in 2013 to more than $20 million in 2017.

In total, the electronics retailer has raised nearly $60 million.

Richard Shadyac Jr., president and CEO of ALSAC — the fundraising arm for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital — said the money will support the missions of finding cures and treating children and keep "our founding promise that no family ever receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live."

Actor Danny Thomas started the hospital in 1962. Treatments developed at St. Jude have helped raise the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since the hospital opened, according to a news release.