Arizona real estate investor launches $150K fundraiser to help St. Jude

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — An Arizona real estate investor is giving back to a children’s hospital for a good cause this holiday season, and that is Something Good!

Through his company, "Andrew the Home Buyer," Andrew Draayer launched a $150,000 fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Every time the company buys a home across the state through Dec. 31, it will donate $1,000 to the hospital.

“That’s going to push us to go and buy as many properties as we can because we want to give back the most that we can,” said Draayer. “This is the second year we’ve done this charity, and it just really makes me inspired to do this every year, knowing that we’re giving back to such a good cause.”

The fundraiser was inspired by a teenager who battled cancer as a child. Bridget lost part of her leg to bone cancer at just six years old, but was treated by medical staff at St. Jude’s. Today, Bridget is a thriving teenager who loves to swim, walk in fashion shows and play volleyball.

“We knew that St. Jude was going to be the best place for hope, for a cure for Bridget. Even though it was thousands of miles away, we were hoping that St. Jude would be the place that gave us our little girl back,” said Jamie Korn, Bridget’s mother. “She’s 14 years old and seven years cancer-free.”

St. Jude, based in Memphis, Tennessee, has had a lasting impact on so many people in Arizona and across the globe. The hospital provides food, housing and medical care so children and families can focus on their health and treatment.

Since opening over 50 years ago, St. Jude has increased the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to over 80%.

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