Fundraising
The Bowens wanted to create a legacy in their son's name and thank Saint Jude for caring for Bowen and providing family housing. The Bowens started a fund raising program selling "Big Ben" awareness bracelets for Valentine's Day. The wristband project ended up raising over $120,000
The 2007 fundraising drive was a raffle for a house (called The House that Ben Built) located in Putnam County, West Virginia, which brought in $808,000. Governor Joe Manchin changed WV state law to make this raffle possible. As a result, St. Jude launched a WV field office that organizes all state fundraising for the hospital. In 2008 the Bowen family organized a second St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway raffle in Hurricane, WVA and raised over $1,000,000. In 2009, the third annual WV St. Jude Dream Home will expand to two locations, Milton and Morgantown, WV.
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