LANETT — Essie Mae Harris has been coordinating St. Jude Miracle Mile Walk-a-Thons since 1979 and this year had one of her best-ever fundraisers, raising a total of $4,234.50 for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The walk-a-thon took place outside the Bowen East District Community Center in Lanett’s West Shawmut community on Saturday, June 29.

Four walkers raised more than $3,000 on the day of the walk. Gloria Jones raised $540, Vivian A. Nelloms $900, Ms. Harris $968.50 and Tommy Lee Woody $668. The Rev. Dr. Lamar D. Johnson and members of Mount Hermon Baptist Church added a donation of $1,158 to bring the grand total to $4,234.50.

The motto for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is “Most men dream dreams, but only a few see their dreams come true.”

Danny Thomas had a dream and from it grew a miracle — St. Jude. The late entertainer founded it in 1962. St. Jude is today the largest childhood cancer research institution in the world.

Cancer is the leading disease killer of American children and is second only to accidents as the leading cause of death of the young. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is the leading center for the study of these killers.

St. Jude is fulfilling the promise and dream of founder Danny Thomas by working to alleviate childhood diseases that blight the lives of youngsters, their families and society as a whole.

Research leading to a cure is the universal objective of St. Jude, and the money sent there will benefit children all over the world.

“Thank you for your support,” Harris says to those who donated to the Miracle Mile Walk-a-Thon. “Your donations help St. Jude in its continuing mission of finding cures and saving the lives of children who are bravely fighting cancer.”