Fifth annual event will raise funds for children’s hospital

PEDRO — Elkins Creek Horse Club is hosting a Saddle Up for St. Jude horse show, auction and fun show starting at 2 p.m. on June 11-12 at Elkins Creek Horse Camp. The event gives equestrians the opportunity to mount up and raise funds to help support the lifesaving mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, one of the world’s premier pediatric cancer research centers.

The event will include an auction with all types of merchandise. Many local businesses have donated merchandise to be sold in the auction. The auction gives non-horse riders an opportunity to participate in helping the children.

The club is still accepting merchandise and members can pick the items up if necessary or people may bring the items to the camp on June 11.

This is the fifth year that Elkins Creek Horse Club has held the Saddle Up for St. Jude event. Elkins Creek Horse Club has raised just under $42,000 since it began in 2012.

“We look forward to this event to help raise awareness and funds for the kids of St. Jude,” said Charlie Whitt, event coordinator. “The Saddle Up for St. Jude event brings together horse enthusiasts from around the Tri-State for a good cause — to support the mission of St. Jude of finding cures to treat deadly childhood diseases.”

Since opening in 1962, St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and around the world. No child is ever denied treatment because of a family’s inability to pay. With a daily operating cost of $1.8 million, St. Jude depends mostly on public contributions and fundraising events, like Saddle Up for St. Jude.

The Elkins Creek Horse Club, Saddle Up for St. Jude event is sponsored by Moe’s South West Grill of Ashland, Bob Sells Auctioneer, Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 24, Shawnee Labor Council AFL-CIO, Wagner Rental of Ashland, Herd Tactical and Walmart of South Point.

For information about this event, follow the club on Facebook at Elkins Creek Horse Club.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering research and treatment of children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

The hospital’s research has helped push overall survival rates for childhood cancer from less than 20 percent when the institution opened to almost 80 percent today. It is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children, and no family ever pays St. Jude for care.

For more information, go to www.stjude.org and follow St. Jude on www.facebook.com/stjude and www.twitter.com/stjude.