Amazing!Chip and Joanna Gaines Gift St. Jude With $1.5 Million Donation and a Playhouse They Designed
Incredible! Chip Gaines and Joanna Gaines have proven once again they are angels sent from Heaven above. The HGTV couple traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, on Wednesday, June 26, to present St. Jude Children’s Hospital with a check for $1.5 million.
As if that wasn’t enough, Chip, 44, and Joanna, 41, also gifted the St. Jude Target House with a new permanent playhouse they designed. During the heartwarming event, the former Fixer Upper stars greeted children, played music on the piano while they sang along and hosted a story time reading of Joanna’s children’s book, We Are the Gardeners.
“As we walked in today, a little boy told us that he’s ‘demo day-ing’ his cancer treatment and that’s pretty much the best thing I’ve ever heard,” Chip said while speaking at the event. “In our world, demo day marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of a newer, more exciting one. And that’s exactly what we want for you — we’re pulling for each and every one of you.”
On top of the donations — which were raised through a social media campaign, #ChipInChallenge, with the help of celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez and others — Joanna said they wanted to design and create something special for the St. Jude Target House, a place where the families of cancer-stricken kids can stay free of charge.
“When we heard that the space outside of Target House could use a little love, we knew right away that we wanted to create a sweet playhouse for the kids to enjoy,” Joanna explained during their appearance. “There’s something so special about spending time together outside and while we’re hopeful that these families will not have to stay here for very long, we wanted to create a retreat for them to explore while they are here.”
Our friends @chipgaines and @joannagaines are going all-in for the kids of St. Jude. They’ve asked their celebrity friends to join the #ChipInChallenge to see who can raise the most money to support the lifesaving mission of St. Jude. Learn more: https://t.co/IFsXKOj4ae pic.twitter.com/ngs9TImqCm
— St. Jude (@StJude) June 5, 2019
Joanna dished that the playhouse sits behind an archway covered in gorgeous flowers. Inside the little getaway, the area features a small green table with chairs and plastic food, as well as a fake kitchen where kids can play pretend chef. The brunette beauty gushed that she and Chip knew they wanted the playhouse to feel “whimsical and fun” for loved ones to unwind. “Our hope is that this space brings a bit of joy to the families here,” Jo said.
In 2017, the Gaineses first traveled to Memphis to unveil their redesign of the dining room at the St. Jude Target House. That same year, Chip surpassed his goal of raising $25,000 in under a week after he totaled $230,000 for the charity.
After raising nearly nine times more than his goal in 2017, Jo and Chip asked for supporters to help raise $500,000 this year. They ultimately presented St. Jude with a check of $1.5 million. The money will ensure that families of kids with cancer will never have to pay a bill for treatment, travel, housing or food.
Simply amazing!
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