Dispatch Center/NPD Raising Funds for Juvenile Cancer Research

NEWCASTLE, WY – The City of Newcastle, Town of Upton and Weston County Dispatch Center, in conjunction with the Newcastle Police Department, is taking part in the Skeletons for St. Jude fundraising efforts to battle childhood cancer. All funds benefit the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

St. Jude’s mission statement is “to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of our founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family's ability to pay.”

Skeletons for St Jude is a nationwide effort where people decorate their yard, home or business for Halloween. In the display is a sign with a QR code that people can scan and use to send a donation directly to St. Jude.

This year the Dispatch Center and NPD decided to take part in the event and decorated the small yard at the police department located at 30 N. Summit. The dispatchers and officers completely covered the cost with no money coming from any agency.

NPD Sgt. Nick Kaminski donated supplies, material and labor, cut large wooden tombstones and gave them a base coat of gray paint. He added rebar for installation in the lawn. The dispatchers then painted the tombstones and purchased or brought items from home to complete the display. The dispatchers – Supervisor Tonia Mills, Genell Rothleutner, Alison Stephens, Kevin Allen and Annie Derra – were assisted in setting up the display by Chief Derek Thompson, Dispatch Director David Larson, Officer Peg Miles, Officer Jacob Esposito, Officer McKinzie Parrish, Officer Justin Breon, Weston County Deputy Jason Barker, Chris Mills and the son of Shane and Marissa Sweet, Clay Sweet.

Supervisor Mills did note that there were some interesting hurdles to overcome.

“The good old Wyoming wind has repeatedly taken down our backdrop, the deer took out our giant spider web and there are no exterior electrical outlets on the building, so lighting the display has been an issue, one that we are trying to manage with battery and solar lights,” she explained. “But, when we have parents tell us how excited their kids are when they drive by and we know we are helping fight juvenile cancer and other diseases, it makes it all worthwhile.”

When approached by the dispatchers about using the police department lawn, Chief Thompson agreed that it was a worthy cause and one that the police department could fully support. He noted that it makes sense that first responders would take part in fundraising efforts that could save lives, especially those of children.

Dispatcher Genell Rothleutner said it has been a lot of work and fun to get the display set up. She said the number of people that have driven by when work was being done on the display and voiced their appreciation and approval of the project has been very gratifying.

“Most people love Halloween and kids, so it is really a genius move to use one to benefit the other,” she said. “I would think that even if people are ambivalent towards or aren’t crazy about Halloween, they would have to agree that there really is no drawback when you are helping kids and St. Jude is an incredible place. Back when they opened in the early 60s a cancer diagnosis was just about a death sentence for a child. I think their website stated they now have a survival rate of over 80 percent and they are not stopping there. We won’t stop either if there is any way we can help.”

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2024 Skeletons for St. Jude Press Release

Skeletons for St. Jude 
Jeff Robertson 
919-607-2722 
Email: info@skeletonsforhope.org
Website: https://skeletonsforhope.org/

September 15, 2024

Skeletons Save Lives – “Skeletons for St. Jude” raising hundreds of thousands in donations for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Skeletons for St. Jude (SSJ) is a nationwide fundraising effort of home haunters that use their Halloween displays to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to support children and their families impacted by childhood cancer.  Their goal is to raise as much money as possible to help get sick children well and out of the hospital so they too can enjoy these fun Halloween and holiday displays. The fundraiser originated in Holly Springs, NC in 2020 with the Robertson family placing a St. Jude fundraising sign in their yard after a local TV station aired their skeleton Halloween display.  After generating $8,200, in a few short weeks, and meeting several families impacted by childhood cancer, the Robertsons were moved to turn the fundraiser into an annual event.   For the 2021 & 2022 campaigns, SSJ, leveraging social media, expanded the effort across the nation recruiting thousands of SSJ partners to join the effort.  By Halloween in 2023, there were close to 1,000 homes, throughout the US, supporting the fundraiser with their Halloween displays.  To date thousands of generous donors have donated over $647,000 to help the children and families battling cancer.  In 2023, SSJ partnered with FrightMaps, an app that helps Halloween lovers all over the nation find the best haunted attractions in their area. The app provides a special icon that identifies those homes across the US supporting St. Jude. SSJ’s goal is to break $1,000,000 raised by 2025.  Those wishing to join our team can receive information by joining SSJ’s Facebook group through the QR code (left) or this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/449848202989543. Donations can be made through the QR code (right).  100% of the donations go directly to St. Jude.  Tax-deductible receipts provided from St. Jude. Download Frightmaps to find the spookiest haunts in the nation including those homes directly supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Track our nation-wide progress on our website: https://skeletonsforhope.org