Amris Bedford inspired everyone she met with her courage, kindness and optimism in the face of cancer. She passed away in March 2021, but cancer did not win the final battle, because Amris’ courage lives on and she continues to inspire others in a touching commercial for St. Jude Children’s Hospital now airing on television nationally.
Ross and Marlee Bedford, Amris’s parents, were as surprised as many others by the commercial.
They did know the big impact their daughter had on the video crews working for St. Jude.
“Amris did tons of work for the hospital and was featured in many videos,” Ross Bedford recalled, “and the workers just loved her and became really fond of her.”
Kelly Cox, one of the heads of marketing at the hospital, had said months prior that she wanted to use existing photos and videos to put together something special in honor of Amris.
Ross and Marlee were naturally given final approval for if the project should go forward. They said to go ahead, hoping it would help other children and their families, because, Marlee said, “that’s what Amris would do.”
Even so, the couple did not know the video spot had been produced and approved. Weeks later they received a phone call. A friend had seen the commercial. Soon, Ross and Marlee saw it for themselves.
Then the cards began to come in. The Bedfords received notes and handwritten letters from places as far off as Arizona, California and even the Canadian province, British Columbia.
One writer, a 61 year old gentleman from Indiana, had lost his own father to cancer. Seeing Amris’s commercial touched him so deeply that he felt compelled to track down the Bedfords and write to them. Seeing Amris reminded him that life was about making connections with others and loving one another.
Gary Simmons, a former game warden who helped organize a special helicopter ride for Amris, was rendered speechless by the TV spot.
Ross said the family friend called them and became suddenly silent.
Ross understood.
“You just saw the commercial didn’t you?,” he asked his friend.
Initially, it was uncertain if the project would be approved or see any air time.
Cox knew how powerful it would be, but it wasn’t a typical St. Jude ad.
“Because of how the story ends,” Ross says with a somber note in his voice.
Now, with the commercial airing on several channels, it is obvious the story is not over.
The little girl from Blackshear who spoke with the CEOs and board of directors of companies like Domino’s and Best Buy, convincing them to donate millions of dollars to build a new family residence wing, is reaching an even bigger audience.
“Her little southern accent would charm them,” Marlee says, with a voice full of love, “And her smile would light up the room.”
Now, Amris is still sharing her smile with the world.
