A group sailing aboard Carnival Vista turned its cruise into a major fundraising effort, collecting $50,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The initiative was led by former Carnival Cruise Director Josh Waitzman, now an Elite Personal Vacation Planner with Carnival Cruise Line, with support from the Nix family and members of the group traveling aboard the ship.
The achievement was celebrated during Carnival Vista’s Groove for St. Jude event, where the $50,000 check was presented to the ship’s senior officers. Carnival thanked the guests, organizers and crew members who helped bring the fundraiser together.
For Waitzman, the fundraiser continues a long personal connection with both Carnival and St. Jude. His public professional profile says he worked as a Carnival Cruise Director before moving into vacation planning and has volunteered with St. Jude since 2011. It also credits his previous onboard efforts with generating more than $250,000 in contributions for the hospital.
Carnival’s long partnership with St. Jude
Carnival Cruise Line has supported St. Jude since 2010 and serves as the hospital’s Official Celebration Partner. The relationship extends beyond financial donations, involving Carnival guests, crew members, travel partners and company executives.
The line’s most recognizable onboard fundraiser is Groove for St. Jude, a fleetwide dance party held during Carnival cruises. Guests make a donation, receive a commemorative shirt and join the event on the ship’s open deck. The proceeds support St. Jude’s treatment and research programs for children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
Groove for St. Jude has produced several memorable fundraising moments. During a 2018 voyage aboard Carnival Splendor, guests and crew raised $40,000 after Cruise Director Lee Mason promised to shave his head if the ship reached its target. The amount set a shipboard fundraising record at the time.
Carnival raised a record $3.5 million for St. Jude in 2022 alone. During that year, guests purchased more than 100,000 Groove for St. Jude shirts and over 27,000 St. Jude-themed bears through the Build-A-Bear Workshop at Sea program.
According to Carnival Corporation’s latest sustainability report, the cruise line’s cumulative contributions had exceeded $36 million by the end of 2025, including approximately $3.3 million raised during that year. The money supports pediatric cancer research, treatment and prevention.
After reaching its previous $33 million target ahead of schedule, Carnival announced a new goal in 2024 to raise $50 million for St. Jude by 2030.
