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Giving to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has been a way of life for Patricia Zarzycki since she was a child and watched her mother send in regular donations.
Now 63, Patricia has decided to make St. Jude a beneficiary in her will. "I have it in my will that whatever I have is going to go for public auction, and the proceeds will go to St. Jude," she said.
She made that decision because of all St. Jude has accomplished for children with catastrophic diseases over the years. "I look at and read the St. Jude magazines, and I see these kids and how they're suffering, and I see the money that's going to this organization to help these kids. It's just remarkable the things they've accomplished with all the tests they do and the research," said Patricia, who lives in New York with her husband, David. The Zarzyckis are retired from the General Electric Company.
Patricia's commitment to St. Jude is so strong that – when she started a Polish dance group – she named it in honor of the hospital and decided to donate all proceeds from their events to St. Jude.
Polish dancing, like St. Jude, has been part of Patricia's life since childhood, when her grandfather taught her the dances. When her own daughter, Kelly-Ann, was young she participated in a children's Polish dance group for many years. And when Patricia was near retirement, some friends asked her to start a Polish dance group, which became the St. Jude Polish Dancers.
Over the years, that group held three benefit dances for the hospital, drawing well-known polka bands and attracting more than 200 attendees each time. "Before the dance even started, we had all the bills paid. Whatever came in at the benefit was clear money for St. Jude," said Patricia, estimating that they raised about $7,000 from the three dances.
Patricia looks back fondly on her time as director of the St. Jude Polish Dancers from 1999 to 2006 and continues to donate to St. Jude – especially as memorials when friends or family pass away. She is also a member of the Danny Thomas-St. Jude Society, as is everyone who includes St. Jude in their will or other estate plans, in recognition of their generosity.
Learn more about the Danny Thomas-St. Jude Society.
