Hollis Belger is the Founder of Juggling for Jude, a soccer-juggling fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. An organization she has started since nine years old, Hollis is using her soccer juggling talent in hopes of raising money to find a cure for cancer. Her work in philanthropy has seen her win awards such as the Princess Diana Award and recognized by current and former professional soccer players. She is also a public speaker and researcher who has worked in philanthropy consulting firms. A fun fact about Hollis is that her personal record is 7,157 juggles which took 76 minutes to accomplish.
Hollis learned about the importance of service from a very young age. At the age of nine, she thought about using her unique talent in juggling a soccer ball to raise money for cancer patients at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This created “Juggling for Jude.” What was originally seen as a passion project during that summer became something Hollis could pursue for life after she raised tens and thousands of dollars. As of this recording, she has helped raise more than $700,000, where all the money goes to paying the bill for patients and their families. Hollis may not have a personal connection to St. Jude, but she has become friends with patients and aims to continue supporting them throughout their journey. While raising almost a million dollars is an impressive accomplishment, Hollis hopes in the future that there is a cure for cancer as 1 out of 5 children die from it every year. With the success Hollis has had with Juggling For Jude, the obstacles and challenges faced throughout her life (personally and professionally) have motivated her to continue fighting for kids who are going through a difficult period in their journey. Since starting Juggling For Jude at nine years old, she has used her platform to speak to young people about finding their purpose and continuing to raise awareness on the issue of pediatric cancer among young people. Outside of philanthropy and service, Hollis is a student at Stanford University where she will be starting her 2nd year soon.
In this episode, you will hear:
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If you want to follow Hollis Belger, be sure to follow her on Instagram @juggling_for_jude!
You can also check out Juggling for Jude website:
Juggling For Jude: https://www.jugglingforjude.com/