The Vellore Centre of St Jude India ChildCare Centres opened its doors on Sunday the 6 th of May 2018 to welcome the first few families of children suffering from Cancer referred from Christian Medical College (CMC). Post this launch the total number of St Jude centres across India is now at 34. St Judes India Childcare Centres were launched with one centre in Mumbai way back in 2006. St Judes has since expanded its presence from Mumbai to Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Jaipur.

The St Jude’s Home Away from Home model located close to the Christian Medical College in Vellore has 22 units that provide safe and clean accommodation, healthy nutrition, education, recreation and counseling to pediatric Cancer patients and their families. St Judes also has a bus that ferries patients and the families free of cost back and forth from the hospital.

Over 300 children come yearly for Cancer treatment to Vellore at Christian Medical College. 90 % of these patients are from outside the town and state with a very large influx from Bengal and North Eastern states. Data shows that almost 70% of the Pediatric Cancer patients at CMC Vellore are poor and have no place to stay and land up living in paid accommodation. This leads to abandonment of treatment due to paucity of resources; monetary and emotional. St Judes Vellore will meet the need of these indigent patients.

The centre is supported by donations from N. Chanrai, Sunny Verghese and the H. T. Parekh Foundation.