For the 17th consecutive year, APRO member Ashley Furniture Industries‘ employees in northern Mississippi have proven that giving just a little every week can make a big difference for children living with illness.
Employees at the company’s Ecru, Ripley, Saltillo, and Verona, Mississippi, locations recently donated a total of almost $74,000 – raised through their contributions to a “Dollar A Week” program – to two children’s hospitals.
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, one of America’s leading children’s hospitals, received a donation of $31,504. Since 2006, Ashley employees have contributed a grand total of $347,883 to Le Bonheur.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital received a $42,410 donation from Ashley employees, for a grand total of $279,868 contributed since 2012. St. Jude never bills patient families for treatment, travel, housing, or food, so they can focus on helping their children live.
“Our hearts are filled with gratitude for this generous donation from Ashley employees,” said Tanya Frey, Vice President of the Midsouth Territory for ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude’s. “The support we receive through this partnership helps St. Jude continue helping more of the 400,000 children worldwide living with cancer each year.”
In addition to these substantial employee gifts, Ashley’s Founder and Chairman Ron Wanek and his wife Joyce personally donated $5,000 to each organization.
“We’re proud to support both of these outstanding organizations as they work to find cures for childhood diseases,” said Wanek. “We hope our gifts help ease some of the burden carried by patient families. And of course I’m thrilled by all of our employees who continue this generosity year after year.”
