Don’t let an upcoming opportunity to fight childhood cancer be the one that got away. Fish in – or pledge funds towards – the 15th Annual Dick Hiley St. Jude Bass Classic to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Cancer treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood-cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since it opened in 1962. Families of the children St. Jude treats are not charged for their treatment, travel, housing or food. People just like you make this possible. The majority of St. Jude’s funding comes from individual contributors.
Anglers in the Upper Midwest can help by fishing in the May 3-4 Dick Hiley St. Jude Bass Classic and recruiting donation pledges from friends and family members. The tournament’s early-bird entry fee is $350 through April 1.
“The tournament has become a significant fundraiser for St. Jude, with total contributions surpassing $1.4 million last year!” said Rick Billings, Rapala USA Vice President of Operations and a regional bass tournament angler. “We are hoping all of you, our Rapala fans, can help this great cause as well, helping raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.”
Rapala USA, a Minnesota-based company, has been supporting the Dick Hiley St. Jude Bass Classic since the tournament was inaugurated in 1999 by a group of Minnesota bass anglers. Multiple Rapala employees and pro-staffers have participated in the event and have directly raised tens of thousands of dollars for St. Jude. Additionally, Rapala donates multiple prizes for the event’s silent auction and every angler participant usually finds several great Rapala products in their registration packs.
To download a tournament entry form and to learn more about how to raise pledge donations, visit the website at stjudefishing.com.
The Dick Hiley St. Jude Bass Classic is a two-day tournament with public weigh-ins. Held on the Upper Mississippi River, it’s been hosted by the city of Wabasha, Minn. (of “Grumpy Old Men” fame) for the past several years. A banquet following the Day 1 weigh-in features a St. Jude patient speaker and live and silent auctions. An awards ceremony follows the Day 2 weigh-in.
You don’t have to be a tournament angler, however, to help the children that St. Jude treats. You can donate directly to the cause. Click this link to access the “Team Rapala” fundraising page, then select “Donate Now” to help St. Jude.
For more information about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,
visit the website at stjude.org.