The true meaning behind the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway

Cancer took her hair, but not her smile. Ansley is now a college freshman, and she's thanking St. Jude. Melissa is live this morning at the St. Jude Dream Home in Richmond to share her story and also tell us how campaigns like this one really help kids around the country. Hey, Melissa, good morning. What a lovely morning out there. Oh, good morning to you. Well, Sally, it actually looks like it, doesn't it? Look at that beautiful sunrise. But let me show you. We just had to run in because it is actually raining here. So this gives you a better idea of what it really looks like out here. But I wanted to show you the outside of the house because it is almost finished. We have a driveway for the first time today here in Richmond, which was really exciting to drive up and see. So throughout the morning, hopefully those clouds will clear out and we can get back out there and give you a better idea of what it looks like. But there's now light fixtures in this home. I'm telling you, it is coming to life. And you need to move here for $100. You have that chance. But this is what's so very important. Where does your $100 go? It goes to patients like Ainsley when she was just a little girl and treated at St. Jude. I was bald and that was fine. My whole family liked that I was bald. They told me I looked beautiful and I felt beautiful. So you rocked it. Yes. Good for you. That is an incredible thing to be able to do. And I feel like you're such an inspiration for future little girls who have to go through this. It's not what you would expect to hear from someone who went through cancer treatment, but that's how Ainsley remembers losing her hair during two years of chemotherapy. Her family turned to a St. Jude affiliate clinic in Louisiana where she received treatment. The clinic even helped her keep up with her schoolwork. Today, she's a freshman at LSU studying political science and enjoying college life. During a visit to St. Jude's main campus in Memphis, I got to see another side of what makes futures like hers possible. World-class researchers are working around the clock here on the St. Jude campus in Memphis while parents are holding their kiddos hand in hand while they fight for their lives. But through the Houston Dream Home Giveaway, by buying a ticket and potentially getting your dream home, you are helping fund that research. For Ainsley, those doctors and researchers at St. Jude gave her more than a chance to beat cancer. They gave her the chance to grow up. How much does St. Jude mean to you and your family? A world and more. Yeah, it means a whole lot. Saved your life, huh? They saved my lives. They've saved my friends' lives. They are angels. There's another reason St. Jude means so much to them. They never received a bill for treatment, travel, housing or food. That meant they could give their little girl something money couldn't buy. Not having to worry about the financial burden of cancer gave me my parents. It gave me my support system. It gave me their full focus and it helped our full family connect and grow together and stay strong and lean on one another. And it also allows all of the families at St Jude to not have to worry about that extra burden or struggle. That's what makes the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway about so much more than winning a house. Every $100 ticket helps support care and research for children facing cancer, while giving their families one less thing to worry about. It's incredible to see Texans coming together to help St. Jude. Any donation helps run the hospital and help support these families and support these kids that have had a curve ball thrown at them, that's for sure. such a precious young lady. I'm so thankful to see how far she's come. And that helps people like her. But look at this gorgeous house. Next up in just about half an hour, I'm going to give you a tour inside, show you how things are shaping up. It is absolutely beautiful. So you can either scan that QR code on your screen right now to get your $100 ticket and possibly move here to Richmond. Or you can also go to dreamhome.org, find out everything you need to know about the Dream Home Giveaway. Help those kiddos at St. Jude. I'm Melissa Wilson. We'll be right back.