Skeletons For St. Jude, Halloween Fun Raises Funds For Kids With Cancer
Delmar, Md. – One woman is using the spook-tacular fun of Halloween to give more than just a few fun-spirited freights.
Amidst a werewolf, a witch and several ghouls and skeletons is a way to raise funds for kids who have to miss the trick-or-treating fun. Elizabeth Stripling, and the Director of outreach and training at the the Center for Autism Services, Science and Innovation at Kennedy Krieger, has meticulously laid out skeletons, pumpkins, tombstones and spiderwebs sprawling over her lawn and hers and her neighbor’s homes in Delmar.
She says her massive collection of Halloween decorations sprouted since the COVID-19 pandemic and when her sister told her about an initiative called “Skeletons for St. Jude,” which uses the Halloween spirit to help kids with cancer.
“The more I learned about it, I thought, why not? I’m already decorating and I’ve already got skeletons, so I’ll just go ahead and gives me an excuse to build to my collection. And it brings such joy to the kids in the neighborhood,” Stripling said.
Skeletons for St. Jude is a nationwide effort of “haunters,” working to raise over $100,000 dollars for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during the Halloween and holiday season, with an ultimate goal of breaking $2 million by the end of the year. Since 2020, the effort has raised over $1.1 million.
“We’re always looking for more homes right now,” Stripling said, saying that over 400 homes throughout the country currently participate. “I’m the only one on the Eastern Shore. So, you know, if they’re interested in joining and participating. They can reach out online.”
A feature of the Skeletons for St. Jude includes a map that shows where participating homes are located.
She encouraged everyone to give as much as they were able, saying even a little could go a long way.
“If everybody in the community just gave a little bit — doesn’t have to be a lot — you know, we’d be able to really support the kids, give them hope,” she said.
Stripling said it is her fondness for Halloween memories and how much the day means to children that keeps her efforts going, and inspires her to make her display for the kids in and around her neighborhood.
“We think a lot about kids at Halloween. And that’s what Saint Jude is all about. It’s all about kids,” she said. “They’re not feeling well if they’re there in the hospital and, you know, this is something that might bring them a little light too, to know that, you know, there are people out here thinking about them on Halloween night wishing they could be celebrating with them.”
Those interested in joining the fun can follow directions to print their own signs for their decorated homes. Stripling said the effort will continue until Dec. 25.
