Varsity Brands Announces $10 Million Fundraising Commitment, Names Patient Play Area at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2025--

Varsity Brands, the leading platform for team Sport and Spirit solutions through its divisions BSN SPORTS and Varsity Spirit, has announced a new $10 million, 5-year fundraising commitment to benefit the lifesaving mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: Finding cures. Saving children. ®

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A May 9 ribbon cutting ceremony unveiled the newly named Varsity Brands Play Deck, a 19,985 square foot outdoor space located in The Domino’s Village, the newest patient housing facility at St. Jude. The space features a jungle gym, cheer cone shaped bongos, a hopscotch course, picnic chairs, a basketball half court area, outdoor grills and a LED movie screen. The Varsity Brands Play Deck is the first St. Jude space named for the company.

“The Varsity Brands Play Deck provides St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital patients and families a space to be active, make friends and share memories,” said Adam Blumenfeld, CEO of Varsity Brands. “This moment is possible because of the continued support of our employees and customers who have helped raise more than $14 million to ensure families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food. We look forward to growing our partnership with St. Jude in the years to come.”

Varsity Brands became an official partner of St. Jude in 2011 when Memphis-based Varsity Spirit launched the “Team Up for St. Jude Spirited by Varsity” program. Today, more than 9,000 employees rally throughout the year to share the St. Jude mission with the next generation of philanthropists through youth led events such as letter writing campaigns at summer camps nationwide and donations at athletic events.

“This incredible $10 million commitment from our friends at Varsity Brands is possible because thousands of selfless supporters choose to come together for a common goal,” said Ike Anand, interim CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “We’re grateful to celebrate another five years of partnership with Varsity Brands. This commitment will help make it possible for St. Jude to keep accelerating progress and give more kids a chance to celebrate every moment.”

Varsity Brands fundraises during St. Jude Memphis Marathon ® Weekend, the St. Jude Walk, and through employee giving campaigns as part of their commitment to “elevating the student experience” and engaging the next generation of philanthropists. Bill Seely, CEO of Varsity Spirit, served as the inaugural Corporate Event Chair for St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend in 2024, where he rallied other business leaders to support the annual event and largest single day fundraiser for St. Jude.

Donate to St. Jude on behalf of Varsity Brands at StJude.org/Varsity.

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.

Varsity Brands, the leading platform for team Sport and Spirit solutions through its divisions BSN SPORTS and Varsity Spirit, has announced a new $10 million, 5-year fundraising commitment to benefit the lifesaving mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: Finding cures. Saving children.® A May 9, 2025 ribbon cutting ceremony in Memphis, Tenn. unveiled the newly named Varsity Brands Play Deck, a 19,985 square foot outdoor space located in The Domino’s Village, the newest patient housing facility at St. Jude.

Varsity Brands, the leading platform for team Sport and Spirit solutions through its divisions BSN SPORTS and Varsity Spirit, has announced a new $10 million, 5-year fundraising commitment to benefit the lifesaving mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: Finding cures. Saving children.® A May 9, 2025 ribbon cutting ceremony in Memphis, Tenn. unveiled the newly named Varsity Brands Play Deck, a 19,985 square foot outdoor space located in The Domino’s Village, the newest patient housing facility at St. Jude.

Ike Anand, interim CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Adam Blumenfeld, CEO of Varsity Brands join other leaders from Varsity Brands to cut the ribbon for the newly named Varsity Brands Play Deck at The Domino’s Village patient housing facility at St. Jude, May 9, 2025 in Memphis, Tenn.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The head of Iran’s judiciary signaled Wednesday there would be fast trials and executions ahead for those detained in nationwide protests despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump.

The comments from Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei come as activists had warned hangings of those detained could come soon. Already, a bloody security force crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,571, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. That figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Trump repeatedly has warned that the United States may take military action over the killing of peaceful protesters, just months after it bombed Iranian nuclear sites during a 12-day war launched by Israel against the Islamic Republic in June.

Meanwhile Wednesday, Iran held a mass funeral of some 100 security force members killed in the demonstrations after authorities earlier said it would be 300. Tens of thousands of mourners attended, holding Iranian flags and photos of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The caskets, covered in Iranian flags, stood stacked at least three high. Red and white roses and framed photographs of people who were killed covered them.

People elsewhere remained fearful in the streets. Plainclothes security forces still milled around some neighborhoods, though anti-riot police and members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force appeared to have been sent back to their barracks.

“We are very frightened because of these sounds (of gunfire) and protests,” said one mother of two children shopping for fruits and vegetables Wednesday, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “We have heard many are killed and many are injured. Now peace has been restored but schools are closed and I’m scared to send my children to school again.”

Ahmadreza Tavakoli, 36, told The Associated Press he witnessed one demonstration in Tehran and was shocked by the use of firearms by authorities.

“People were out to express themselves and protest, but quickly it turned into a war zone,” Tavakoli said. “The people do not have guns. Only the security forces have guns.”

Mohseni-Ejei made the comment in a video shared by Iranian state television online.

“If we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly,” he said. “If it becomes late, two months, three months later, it doesn’t have the same effect. If we want to do something, we have to do that fast.”

His comments stand as a direct challenge to Trump, who warned Iran about executions an interview with CBS aired Tuesday.

“We will take very strong action,” Trump said. “If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action.”

“We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen. And you know, if they want to have protests, that’s one thing, when they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about hanging — we’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not going to work out good.”

One Arab Gulf diplomat told the AP that major Mideast governments had been discouraging the Trump administration from launching a war now with Iran, fearing “unprecedented consequences” for the region that could explode into a “full-blown war.” The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to journalists.

Meanwhile, activists said Wednesday that Starlink was offering free service in Iran. The satellite internet service has been key in getting around an internet shutdown launched by the theocracy on Jan. 8. Iran began allowing people to call out internationally on Tuesday via their mobile phones, but calls from people outside the country into Iran remain blocked.

“We can confirm that the free subscription for Starlink terminals is fully functional,” said Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who has helped get the units into Iran. “We tested it using a newly activated Starlink terminal inside Iran.”

Starlink itself did not immediately acknowledge the decision.

Security service personnel also apparently were searching for Starlink dishes, as people in northern Tehran reported authorities raiding apartment buildings with satellite dishes. While satellite television dishes are illegal, many in the capital have them in homes, and officials broadly had given up on enforcing the law in recent years.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency said 2,403 of the dead were protesters and 147 were government-affiliated. Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 18,100 people have been detained, the group said.

Gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult, and the AP has been unable to independently assess the toll given the communications being disrupted in the country.

Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

FILE - This frame grab from footage circulating on social media shows protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire as they take to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world, in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP, File)

FILE - In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a ceremony to mark the Shiite holiday of Eid al-Ghadir, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)