My name is Camille Martichoux and from a young age, St. Jude has been a part of my life. My parents have always been donors, but how I personally got introduced was through a family friend battling cancer in 2016. Little Samar was just 2 when she was diagnosed and we wanted to do something to help. We joined a fundraising team for the St. Jude Walk/Run in the Bay Area to help kids like Samar and a hospital that gives families hope of getting past this disease. This was how I first learned that St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a place that develops cutting edge treatments and help families battling the worst cases of cancer and you know what else? They share their treatments with hospitals around the world to make sure every child has a chance to beat cancer! They helped Samar by sharing their lifesaving care path with her doctors at Stanford. Samar is now a healthy tween but we continued this tradition even after after her recovery.

Then, in 2022, I chose to continue fundraising, but do it on my own this time. I was surprised that through my work, I was the top fundraiser in the Bay Area. I now understood how anyone can make a difference. At eleven years old, this belief that I could make an impact inspired and motivated me.

In 2023, I saw how my friends were motivated to fundraise and walk alongside me, so I decided to form a small team of a few of my friends. We worked together and raised enough to be the 2nd top fundraiser team in the Bay Area after the Williams Sonoma team.

In 2024, I decided to grow my team. Our team was made up of over 25 girls from 6 different schools. Together raised over $40K! I wonder what we could do with more teams, with more kids who felt like they could be part of making a difference, I even wonder if we could see the end of pediatric cancer in my lifetime.

Just recently, I was invited to a leadership conference at the St. Jude Hospital in Memphis! It was so exciting! I heard so many inspirational stories about different patients’ battles with cancer and their journeys with St. Jude. I met so many incredible people, all of whom told me St. Jude was like a family.

Join us this fundraising season as we prepare to walk for the children of St. Jude - have a peek at our Start Your Own Mission Possible Team to help you get started.

It doesn’t matter how old you are or where you live, our team is always growing because we know ending cancer is a Mission Possible. Join Us!