Adam Doleac Reflects on His First Visit to St. Jude: ‘It Changes You’
Like many artists, Adam Doleac's first visit to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital left a lasting impact.
Doleac paid his first visit to the hospital in Memphis, Tenn., during the 2020 Country Cares event in January. Speaking to Taste of Country on the red carpet, Doleac remarked that he met a family from St. Louis, Mo., whose 13-year-old son, Eric, was going through his 26tn cycle of chemotherapy, and he still had another 30 rounds to go.
After bonding with the family, Doleac invited them to come to his show in St. Louis in March to, "Get away from everything they've been going through," he explains.
Getting to meet the families and tour the hospital opened Doleac's eyes to the powerful work that's been taking place inside its walls since the hospital opened in 1962. He plans to keep that nobility close to heart.
"St. Jude is just a special place ... once you come here and you see the people that are doing the work, it changes you," he says. "We're in the music world, but these people at St. Jude are doing such a bigger thing, it's so much more. Just keeping that in mind and how I can contribute to that as I go forward is what I think about."
Country Cares is an annual event founded by Alabama's Randy Owen in 1989 that brings the country music industry to Memphis to visit the hospital and learn about its life-saving mission. Lady Antebellum were bestowed with the Angels Among Us Award during the 2020 event for the devoted efforts to St. Jude throughout the past decade.
From Feb. 6-7, Taste of Country will assist more than a dozen country radio stations in raising money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital with a webathon/radiothon. Nearly $9.2 million has been raised during the previous six joint efforts, with much more raised from other TSM stations later in the year. If you'd like to donate, check here for various options.
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