Eric Trump visits St. Jude service for cancer victim
Presidential son and longtime St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital benefactor Eric Trump was in Memphis late last week for what he called an “emotional day” celebrating the life of a young cancer victim.
Trump and his wife, Lara, attended a memorial service at St. Jude last Friday honoring Colin Hayward Toland, who died in March at age 10 after battling an aggressive brain tumor.
“It is emotional day being back at @StJude in celebration of our dear friend Colin! He was a beautiful child who we will all remember forever. We will win the fight against pediatric cancer,” Trump tweeted last week.
In a post on Instagram, Lara Trump wrote about the heartbreak of Colin’s passing and the work of the “amazing hospital” to cure devastating childhood diseases.
“Yesterday, as we celebrated Colin’s life, we were touched by so many new families and patients. Each of them had a unique story and prognosis. And each of them raves about @stjude and what a special place it is,” she wrote.
ALSAC, the fundraising and public awareness group for St. Jude, issued a statement confirming the visit of Trump, a “longtime and devoted supporter” of the Memphis hospital, and his wife.
“Out of respect for his privacy, we will not be sharing any further details about his visit, but we appreciate their continued support. We are thankful for all of our donors from all backgrounds and walks-of-life who help ensure that no family ever receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food because all a family should have to worry about is helping their child live,”ALSAC said.
From its founding in 2006, the Eric Trump Foundation focused primarily on raising money for St. Jude. In 2012, it pledged $20 million to fund a state-of-theart surgical and intensive care facility in the Kay Research and Care Center, which was completed about two years later.
Following his father’s election as president in 2016, Eric Trump announced he was shutting down the fundraising efforts of the foundation to avoid the potential for, or appearance of, conflicts of interest and other improprieties. In the announcement, he said the group had raised a total of $16.3 million for St. Jude.
The foundation later was rebranded under the name Curetivity.
In a 2012 interview, Trump told The Commercial Appeal that he became a St. Jude supporter after researching pediatric hospitals.
“They’re the best in the world. They’re miracle-workers,” he said. of the hospital. “You truly have a national treasure in Memphis.”
Reach Tom Charlier at thomas.charlier@ commercialappeal.com or 901529-2572 and on Twitter at @thomasrcharlier.