September is a wild time of year for me. As a podcaster, it’s the second most important time of year — it’s iPhone time. As a developer, it’s the time to update my apps for the new versions of iOS/etc. But as a human, it’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which means it’s Podcastathon time.

On this year’s show, hijinks ensued. We played “Chaos Jenga”. We played Tetris Tumble. We ate things blindfolded, occasionally paired with some deeply unusual drizzle pairings. We built marshmallow towers, and constructed paper airplanes (some of us better than others). We competed in zany Relay Relays. We augmented an Apple IIe and played some games on it. We did some ridiculous drafts. We constructed a wagon. We tasted root beers. We generally had a great time. If you haven’t watched the stream, I encourage you to do so. It’s great fun.

This was my fourth time in Memphis; it’s staring to feel — to a degree — like a home away from home. Having been on campus several times now, not a ton about St. Jude surprises me. I’ve known for many years that St. Jude is dedicated wholly and completely to curing childhood cancer. ALSAC — St. Jude’s fundraising arm — is dedicated wholly and completely to funding that mission.

What struck me this year — as I toured the Domino’s Village, as I worked with the incredible team at ALSAC, as I spoke with people on the far periphery of the Podcastathon — is that everyone gives a crap. Top-to-bottom. Inside-and-out. They really give a crap. About everything they touch.

This really crystallized in me as I toured Domino’s Village. Domino’s Village is longer-term housing right on campus at St. Jude. It gives patients and their families a home base for their time in Memphis. And it isn’t just one-bedroom apartments. Cancer affects an entire family, not just the patient. Often, that means patients, caregivers, and even siblings are making Memphis their home, for months at a time. Domino’s Village has two- and three-bedroom apartments for exactly this reason. They’re beautiful, and nicely furnished.

But it doesn’t end there.

In St. Jude’s continued commitment to do the best for their patients and their families, they often interview former patient families, to see how the facilities and procedures at St. Jude can improve.

One thing that was noted was that often times, essential medicines and/or injections have to happen at very odd hours. It’s not fun to trudge across campus to the hospital, for a pill or a shot, at 2AM. One of the features of Domino’s Village is a sort of nurse’s station and pharmacy, where trained professionals can distribute life-saving medicines at any time.

Even the sections of the building that you wouldn’t expect anyone to care about, like the area around the elevator, or the elevator itself, are thoughtfully designed. There’s a community kitchen, with multiple stoves and ovens, so families of different cultures can break bread together. I saw this during our tour, and joked that the kitchen looked like it had never been used, because the staff had done such a meticulous and thorough job cleaning it.

During some time spent with the Hacketts, I was recounting this old-and-yet-new epiphany, and Merri re-crystallized this thought with an extremely simple comment. Paraphrasing:

Everything St. Jude does is purposeful.

That’s so true. And it extends to the ALSAC team. Everything they touch, they give 110%. They do not half-ass, and they do not take shortcuts.

It is an immense privilege to work with Jill, Jolie, and the entire rest of the team at ALSAC to make this incredible day happen. I’m so deeply thankful to be a part of it.

Speaking of being a part of things, September is not over, and childhood cancer has not yet been eradicated.

This year, St. Jude’s call to action is simple:

Let’s give these children more tomorrows.

Please, if you have any money to spare, consider donating right now. Last year we raised just over ONE MILLION DOLLARS for the kids of St. Jude. Sitting here now, we’ve raised over $500,000 this year. A million isn’t likely for this year, but let’s see how close we can get.

I can think of no more worthwhile way to spend my money. I say that as someone who has spent some money this month. If you did as well, consider taking a look at The Marco Offset. But don’t let that intimidate you — any amount helps.

Let’s give these kids more tomorrows. Please donate, if you can.