THE GENEROSITY OF ELVIS.

Elvis Presley was, in private and in public, one of the most generous people in contributing to charities and charity events, who ever lived.
Of the many organizations that Elvis supported, one of his favorite charities was St. Jude Hospital for Children in Memphis.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a childhood cancer treatment and research center that was founded by comedian and actor Danny Thomas in 1962.
The hospital was founded on the premise that “no child should die at the dawn of life.”
When Danny started to realize his idea for the hospital, he literally went around the country asking people for donations, and many famous people offered his help.
Elvis, as was his custom, heeded that call for support from the children of St. Jude and its founder Danny Thomas since the hospital was just a dream, and continued to do so throughout his life.
Elvis made an appearance in Danny Thomas’s “A Rain of Stars,” a benefit for the construction of St. Jude Hospital, at Russwood Park in Memphis, on June 28, 1957. Elvis did not sing that day, although he participated in the charity act. Elvis can be seen in the photos alongside such stars as comedian Lou Costello, actresses Jane Russell and Susan Hayward, and country singer Ferlin Husky.
The names of many of those early donors, who also included Frank Sinatra, are listed on a wall inside the main section of the hospital. Of course Elvis Presley’s name gets a special mention on that wall, just like it does on so many other hospitals or charities.
We can also see in the second set of photos Elvis and Danny Thomas, on February 14, 1964, a sunny Valentine’s Day, in Long Beach, California, when Elvis donated the yacht “Potomac”, whose previous owner was the President Franklin Roosevelt, to St. Jude Hospital.
Elvis bought the presidential yacht for $55,000 and gave it to Danny Thomas to sell with the proceeds going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Thomas sold it that same year for $75,000.