Drake White on St. Jude: ‘These Kids Are Not Numbers Here’

Drake White took the time to visit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., recently and shared some of his thoughts about the experience, particularly about how impressed he was with the commitment of the staff and researchers there.

“We got to talk to one of the doctors whose research specifically is in the influenza department, and just to hear the level of detail he went into on making sure these kids do not get sick because of the depletion of their immune system is pretty amazing,” he says. “These kids are not numbers. They know them by name. They know their families. There’s no competition; it’s all one cause, all one goal."

White says his favorite part, though, was hanging out with the kids.

“I just played a pretty brutal game of Uno with Mikey,” he shares. “He was 9 years old and he knew the rules of Uno very, very well. You could tell he’s just a brain, just a normal 9-year-old kid."

The artist admits he loves kids probably because he’s still a big kid himself.

“I’m the guy that’s always gonna be out jumping off the diving board backwards or playing practical jokes,” White says with a laugh. “It made me even have a deeper appreciation because at heart I learned to play the guitar to never have to grow up."

White wants to encourage his fans to partner with St. Jude because they can be confident their donations are going straight to the source.

“Your money is going directly to it,” he states. “They work together and the money really does go directly to the cause. They would rather a million people give a dollar than one person give a million dollars because it’s about the wide range of people. The more people involved, the greater it becomes."

The soulful singer/songwriter recently released “Livin’ the Dream” early this year, a laid-back love song that shows off his gritty, powerful vocals without being quite as punchy as his previous singles. The song is bringing new fans to White left and right, and if this tune is any indication, we will be seeing a lot more of White in 2016.

On March 3 and 4, Taste of Country will join 15 Townsquare Media stations in support of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This two-day web and radiothon aims to raise money and awareness for the world class research and treatment facility in Memphis, Tenn. Now in its third year, this collaborative effort has raised nearly $2.5 million. Country radio has helped raise more than $550 million during 26 years worth of Country Cares radiothons. The mission is simple: raise money, save lives. 

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