Philanthropist and TV personality Daisy Fuentes on Working With St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

By A Mystery Man Writer

Trailblazing comes naturally to Daisy Fuentes. The Cuban-born, New Jersey-raised stunner was MTV's first Latina VJ, Revlon's first Latina spokesmodel, and one of the first celebrities to parlay her on-air popularity into a fashion empire. (Launched in 2004, her Daisy Fuentes for Kohl's line now rakes in approximately $300 million in sales annually.) These days you can also catch Fuentes as a cohost of Telemundo's La Voz Kids. But despite all her accomplishments, Fuentes prioritizes her charitable work. For nearly 20 years, she's used her own voz to raise funds and awareness for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the hospital and research center in Memphis that is funded by individual donors and that treats children with life-threatening diseases—for free. An impromptu visit in 1997 inspired Fuentes to create the FedEx/St. Jude Angels and Stars Gala in Miami, an annual fund-raising bash that has become a must on the Miami social calendar and has raised more than $4 million for the hospital. "I consider my voice to be a privilege," says Fuentes. "So I will continue to spread the word about this mission." Un Abrazo Fuentes with St. Jude patient Stephan, then 16, at the FedEx/St. Jude Angels and Stars Gala
Trailblazing comes naturally to Daisy Fuentes. The Cuban-born, New Jersey-raised stunner was MTV's first Latina VJ, Revlon's first Latina spokesmodel, and one of the first celebrities to parlay her on-air popularity into a fashion empire. (Launched in 2004, her Daisy Fuentes for Kohl's line now rakes in approximately $300 million in sales annually.) These days you can also catch Fuentes as a cohost of Telemundo's La Voz Kids. But despite all her accomplishments, Fuentes prioritizes her charitable work. For nearly 20 years, she's used her own voz to raise funds and awareness for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the hospital and research center in Memphis that is funded by individual donors and that treats children with life-threatening diseases—for free. An impromptu visit in 1997 inspired Fuentes to create the FedEx/St. Jude Angels and Stars Gala in Miami, an annual fund-raising bash that has become a must on the Miami social calendar and has raised more than $4 million for the hospital. I consider my voice to be a privilege, says Fuentes. So I will continue to spread the word about this mission. Un Abrazo Fuentes with St. Jude patient Stephan, then 16, at the FedEx/St. Jude Angels and Stars Gala