Hello Funville readers, it's Butch here on the Liberty with a quick hello... and to let you know about something fun that does so much good, something happening on your next "Fun Ship" cruise. Earlier this year, Carnival Cruise Lines announced a three-year commitment to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, to raise three million dollars for childhood cancer research.  Carnival Cruise Lines has already been doing a number of shore-side events for St. Jude, and now the fundraising efforts have moved aboard our ships, with our "Care to Play: Carnival for St. Jude Kids" activities.

St. Jude is a wonderful organization that provides no-cost care to children from around the world, including accommodations for the family members of sick kids. They are the leading researcher on rare childhood diseases and cancers, and have an amazing 80% success rate. No child is ever turned away because of their family's inability to pay.

As a part of our Youth Experience Program and our popular Beary Cuddly workshop, where you can literally stuff you own furry animal friend, you can now purchase and stuff your very own St. Jude Bear, specially designed for the program, complete with doctor's outfit. All of the proceeds from the sales of these special bears go to St. Jude.

The big event happening now on all of our vessels is the Groove for St. Jude, a dance party hosted by your voyage's Cruise Director, which celebrates the warm, fuzzy feeling of giving to such a great cause. To participate, sign up during your cruise at the formalities shop on board. A ten dollar donation is required, with all of the money going directly to St. Jude. For your generosity, Carnival will also give you a "Groove for St. Jude" logo t-shirt  and a "Care to Play" wrist band. We encourage all of our participants to wear their shirts and wrist bands for the entire day of the event.

I just love hosting the Groove for St. Jude every week because... not only is it such a fun way to celebrate such a wonderful organization, but also because I love to dance. (Those of you who have cruised with me before know this to be true!)

During my next vacation, I hope to travel to Tennessee, where I can visit the St. Jude facilities in person and bring them some Carnival gifts. And the next time you're vacationing on the Carnival Liberty - or any of our "Fun Ships" - take a moment out of your vacation to give back to those who need it most. You could be saving a life and having fun doing it!

Find out more about Carnival's Care to Play program by clicking here.