Pittsburgh Couple Combats Pediatric Cancer With Holiday Lights

AMBRIDGE, PA — Over the past 15 years, Bob and Denise Dunn of Beaver County have used the holiday season to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

They do so by decorating their home with an array of more than 20,000 lights, inflatables and decorations of every size and shape, and collecting money from the awestruck passersby who come to view the enormous display.

This year, the couple likely will top a milestone amount of money collected for the Tennessee hospital famous for its battle against pediatric cancer: $100,000. They have raised a total of $92,000 thus far, a sum Bob Dunn never imagined obtaining when he began with his relatively modest display.

"I started with about three strands of lights my neighbor gave me. I've added a lot more since then," he told Patch with a chuckle.

Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital advances cures and prevention for pediatric diseases through research and treatment. The hospital has never denied treatment on a family's ability to pay.

Why did the couple decide to financially benefit St. Jude's?

"Denise and me, we were looking for a charitable cause years ago when we started decorating," Bob Dunn, a 69-year-old retiree, told Patch. "We came inside when we were done. We turned on the TV, and there was a commercial on for St. Jude's. We took that as a sign."

The display, at 217 Maplewood Avenue, will continue nightly through Jan. 6.