Students in Louisiana Tech’s nursing program participated in the annual St. Jude Radiothon last month, which was broadcast live from Super One Foods in Ruston.

The nursing students answered telephones, greeted store patrons and well-wishers, ran errands as needed and helped pass out balloons to little children.

Heading into the event with the goal of raising at least $150,000, the radiothon was deemed a success after raising over $155,000.

The St. Jude’s Radiothon is held each February, giving area residents the opportunity to offer a virtual Valentine to the area’s sick children by donating to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

More than 1,600 Louisiana residents have been treated at that facility since it opened in 1962 with no cost to their families.

Written by Scott Boatright