Jeff Robertson is the first to admit that he went “a little overboard” when it came to decorating his house for Halloween in October 2020.
His extravagant display — which included an entire skeleton army — attracted the attention of a local news station in Holly Springs, North Carolina. Suddenly, people were driving in from across the street to see Robertson’s yard in person.
“That night we had a family huddle and said, ‘This is kind of cool that we’re on the news, but you know, let’s kind of take the spotlight off of us,” Robertson told St. Jude Inspire. “Like, how can we use this for good?’”
“We all agreed that we should start a fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.”
That’s how Robertson started Skeletons for St. Jude — a campaign that encourages families across the United States to decorate their homes and raise awareness for children’s cancer research.
Robertson said the cause is “truly a team effort.”
“Mark Kozik contacted me out of the blue in 2022 and offered to help build, design and manage a website for our nationwide effort at no cost to me or anyone else,” Robertson said. “Without Mark, we wouldn’t be able to do what we are doing on this scale.”
Through the website, Robertson offers resources for families to get started, including a QR code for donations and a press release for households to share with local media outlets. Every household that signs up is added as an attraction on Fright Maps.
In the last five years, the cause has grown steadily from 400 homes in 2021 to 681 in 2024.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Robertson stated that roughly 600 homes are involved this year, and he expects that number to increase to 1,000 by October 31.
“It shows me that there’s a lot of good in this country,” Robertson told the Houston Chronicle. “And what I really enjoy about this time of the year is — social media gets a bad name a lot of times, especially with politics and whatnot, but what happens in September and October of every year is that I have this cross section of the nation that’s part of our team.”
Kate and Nick Block of Houston, Texas, joined the cause three Halloweens ago. Every year, they try to outdo themselves in an effort to bring in more foot traffic.
“Last year, for the first time ever, I actually ran out of candy,” Kate Block said, as she showed off her latest collection of skeletons, tombstones, and caskets.
Massachusetts resident Terrence Leahy hopes to “outdo” herself this year, too. In 2024, she raised $500 for St. Jude — and she wants to go bigger this Halloween.
“We have a lot of neighbors that look forward to it,” Leahy told WWLP. “So it’s nice to bring a smile once in a while.”
The nationwide effort — which has grown to over 1,000 families in the last five years — has raised $977,792 since the fundraiser began in 2020.
Robertson said that 2025 is the year he hopes to “break the $1 million mark.”
“What started out as me having fun with a bunch of skeletons on Halloween unexpectedly turned into something much more meaningful,” Robertson said. “I am so proud of what our team has accomplished.”
To join Jeff and hundreds of others in the cause, visit the Skeletons for St. Jude website.
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Header image via Skeletons for St. Jude
