Drew Barrymore, Lainey Wilson, Jon Hamm Ring in Holiday Season With St. Jude Thanks and Giving

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 4, 2024--

St. Jude Thanks and Giving® is kicking off its 21st year of uniting celebrities, retailers and consumers to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® and its lifesaving mission to treat and defeat childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241104315093/en/

For the first time, actor, producer and talk show host Drew Barrymore joins the annual campaign, along with country music artist Lainey Wilson and actor Jon Hamm. Longtime celebrity supporters Sofia Vergara, Michael Strahan and Luis Fonsi will share the mission of St. Jude with their fans. The signature holiday campaign invites shoppers to support St. Jude by making online and in-store donations or purchasing limited-edition products from some of the nation’s top retailers.

“For more than two decades, the St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign has been a holiday tradition that unites millions of supporters around the lifesaving mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude. “We’re incredibly thankful for our celebrity friends, partners and donors from all walks of life who are members of our St. Jude family. Their generosity helps St. Jude provide vital research and treatment for kids with cancer and other life-threatening diseases so they can live their best life and celebrate every moment.”

The campaign echoes the founding of St. Jude by entertainer Danny Thomas, who drew on his star power to raise funds toward opening a research hospital that would treat children at no charge to their families. Today, his children Marlo, Tony and Terre Thomas and other celebrities lend their voice and support to this beloved cause.

Celebrity Support

Drew Barrymore

“I’m truly honored to unite with St. Jude this holiday season because its mission is incredibly meaningful to me. As a mother, I truly understand the impact a child’s health has on a family and there is nothing like the power of community coming together to support families through hard times. Join me and let’s bring joy, hope, and healing to the brave children and families of St. Jude.”

Lainey Wilson

“Music moves my soul and so do the kids at St. Jude. I am honored to have spent time with them and their families and seen firsthand what supporting St. Jude truly means. From learning about the impact of music therapy at St. Jude to seeing artwork by kids throughout the research hospital, I continue to be inspired by St. Jude families. I’m proud to join my country music family to bring much needed awareness to the lifesaving mission of St. Jude, one that is sustained by generosity every day from people of all walks of life.”

Jon Hamm

“Teaming up with St. Jude for over twenty years to shine a light on its work to improve survival rates for childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases means the world to me. Being part of this historic St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign gives us all a chance to make a real difference in the world and in the lives of St. Jude patients and their families.”

Michael Strahan

“Nothing prepares you for hearing the words “your child has cancer.” The breakthroughs and care by St. Jude help families find the hope and healing they need to live a full and impactful life. From my family to yours, let’s come together this holiday season and support the lifesaving mission of St. Jude to treat and defeat childhood cancer and other catastrophic diseases to help kids everywhere.”

Sofía Vergara

“Life is deeply precious. The incredible work of doctors, researchers and staff at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital gives kids with cancer and other life-threatening diseases a chance to live their best life. It’s an honor to be a part of this campaign each year and see all of us unite for this amazing purpose.”

Luis Fonsi

“I consider St. Jude part of my family and find every chance I can to get involved with its lifesaving mission to help raise childhood cancer survival rates around the world. My wish this holiday season is that everyone can unite with loved ones and find a way to support St. Jude.”

Brands Unite for St. Jude

Well-loved brands participating this year include Domino's, Kay Jewelers, Chili's, HomeGoods, AutoZone, Williams Sonoma, Kia, Dollar General, JOANN, DXL Big + Tall, Melting Pot, HSN, Denny's, J.Crew Factory, Zales, Jared the Galleria of Jewelry, and Banter by Piercing Pagoda, among others.

“At HomeGoods, we hold our friends at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital very close to our hearts. What makes us most proud is the impact our collective work has had on thousands of St. Jude kids and families. It is because of our generous customers and the passion and hard work of our teams, that we have been able to raise over $78 million since 2010 for this incredible organization,” said Victoria Shonkoff, SVP and Marketing Director for HomeGoods & Homesense. “St. Jude has been instrumental in helping advance our social purpose mission, Find Home Anywhere, to help people find a sense of home wherever they are. Through our collaboration, we are one step closer to accomplishing this goal by creating a home away from home for the patients of St. Jude.”

Ways to support St. Jude this holiday season:

Funds raised by these brands will help ensure that families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food ― so they can focus on helping their child live.

Explore the many ways to give back to the kids of St. Jude this holiday season.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital ®

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children. ® It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was largely considered incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate from 20% to more than 80%, and it won't stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes to help doctors and researchers at local hospitals and cancer centers around the world improve the quality of treatment and care for even more children. Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Support the St. Jude mission by donating at stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on X, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.

Sofia Vergara (Photo: Business Wire)

Luis Fonsi (Photo: Business Wire)

Michael Strahan (Photo: Business Wire)

Jon Hamm (Photo: Business Wire)

Lainey Wilson (Photo: Business Wire)

Drew Barrymore (Photo: Business Wire)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.

Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.

Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.

But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)