More than 40 executives and store managers of Sterling Jewelers joined St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital national outreach director Marlo Thomas, her brother, Tony Thomas, and St. Jude patients to reveal a $15 million donation to expand and redesign the cafeteria for St. Jude staff and patient families.

To date, Sterling Jewelers has contributed over $8 million to St. Jude.

This $15 million gift allows St. Jude to build a new dining room area that will seat around 500 people, upgrade the kitchen and patient meal preparation area, and provide a new servery area about three times the size of the current servery. The expanded cafeteria will provide nutritional care for patients, conduct research in nutrition as it relates to pediatric cancer or other catastrophic childhood diseases, and serve as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team that provides patient care at St. Jude.

The cafeteria functions as a gathering place for physicians, staff, and patients to enjoy a meal together.