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Scott Hamilton Helping Children Who Are Suffering Illnesses as Spokesman for Target House

Aired March 14, 2002 - 11:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: If you're any kind of skating fan, ice skating fan specifically, you are going to recognize the name Scott Hamilton, and the face as well no doubt. Former champion, national champion and gold medalist at the 1984 Winter Olympics. And he probably also most importantly a cancer survivor. Now he is helping children who are suffering life-threatening illnesses as spokesman for Target House.

Scott Hamilton joins us this morning from New York.

Good to see you. How are you?

SCOTT HAMILTON, FIGURE SKATER: I'm fine. I'm still getting over the Olympic Games.

HARRIS: I was going to ask if you've been decompressed yet.

HAMILTON: I'm still very compressed. Everything was great, and it was wonderful. I've been on the road trying to make up for the month that I was in Salt Lake. I've been trying to keep busy with Target House and a lot of other things this. So this is a wonderful opportunity for know talk to but a wonderful program in Memphis, Tennessee.

HARRIS: Tell us about it. What exactly is Target House for those of us that haven't heard about it?

HAMILTON: Target House is a facility that houses children whose families are going through long-term care at St. Jude's Children Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. It's a phenomenal place. It's an apartment building that has a living room, two bedrooms and kitchen, and it allows families to live as families while their children are going through long-term and many cases experimental therapies at St. Jude's Children Research Hospital. It's a phenomenal program. It's taking an idea that's existed for a while of creating housing for families whose children are in therapy, and being treated, and it's given them a whole other level of quality of life, and it's really important to see just how this particular facility has effected these families.

Every one of their neighbors is a cancer patient or child with a -- developed a terrible disease, and it gives them, you know, a place to live while they are going through this. Their neighbors are all people going through this.

There are 49 units in phase one. There is 46 in phase two, which opens in November. And the people that are involved in this are just unbelievable, and it's a true honor to be a part of Target House.

HARRIS: Any idea at all about how much money it takes it run something like that. I'm watching that and looking at the facilities. They are nice they're so unique, and you need a lot of them. I'm just wondering, how much money has to be raised for something like that?

Money is never an issue for the families that treated at St. Jude's Children Research Hospital. They never charge anyone. No one is denied because of a lack of being able to pay, because it's all free, and Target House is free to the families as well.

I can't give you a true number on what it cost to develop this. I'm sure it exists, and I'm sure I have it in my materials that are at close hand. But generally, it's something that Target wanted to do, and a lot of their vendors have participated.

And to create this facility, Michael Graves did the fountains. Amy Grant did the music room. Tiger Woods was very involved with the library in the Tiger Woods pavilion, which is being built in phase two. So it's amazing.

Tim Herring donated a van. He was going donate a van, and then he won the next week, so he donated a big van. So it's a great place, and to see just what it does for these families. You know, the parents, you have to think would just do anything they could to take the illness away from their children and take it on themselves. This place, they can live as a family, they can cook, they can watch TV, they can live in privacy if they want, or they can interact with the other families that are living there as well.

HARRIS: We are kind of tight on time because of all the breaking news we had, but I just to want to give folks an idea of what it is you are doing to help this. The Stars on Ice is...

HAMILTON: Well, Stars on Ice, a portion of every ticket sold with Target Stars on Ice goes directly to Target House. We have been doing this. This is our third year. It's very exciting. Last year, we raised well over a quarter million dollars for Target House. So it's a very exciting thing that we are doing. And phase two really needed some help. My golf tournament every summer that I have at Sherwood Country Club in L.A. has raised funds. This will be our fourth one coming up, and it's exciting what we have been able to do for these families and for St. Jude.

HARRIS: That's great. Hey, on the way out, real quick, if that was you on that fox show last night boxing, who would you be in the ring with?

HAMILTON: I didn't see it.

HARRIS: Oh, you can tell us. Just because it's public now, you can tell us if you watched it. HAMILTON: You know, I would never bet against Tonya Harding when it comes to anything like that.

HARRIS: Yes, you would know.

Thanks, Scott. Good luck with the Target House and Stars on Ice. Great project, and you're a great guy for getting involved now and helping out.

HAMILTON: Thank you very, very much.

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