Summary:
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Ryan Trahan and Haley Pham raise over $10 million for St. Jude in 50 States in 50 Days challenge.
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Corporate partners and individual donors flood in, helping donations skyrocket past original $1 million goal.
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The couple’s philanthropic road trip mixes daily vlogging with high-shareability challenges, turning into a massive fundraising success.
Ryan Trahan just did it. With only days left in his 50 States in 50 Days challenge, the YouTuber and his wife, creator and author Haley Pham, officially crossed $10 million raised for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, shattering their original $1 million goal.
The milestone comes alongside today’s Day 46 upload in the series, which continues to funnel millions of viewers toward the donation link. The couple’s road trip began June 10, 2025, and is slated to wrap next week, putting them on pace to complete one of the biggest creator-led charity drives we have seen on YouTube.
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When Trahan and Pham pulled out of Texas in early June, their ambition sounded big but doable: hit all 50 states in 50 days and raise $1 million for St. Jude. They hit that number in just two weeks, then continued to raise the ceiling as donations—and national attention—skyrocketed.
Corporate partners and individual donors flooded in. St. Jude says more than 115 brands chipped in, from mobility and DTC staples to food and travel companies, helping the tally balloon past $7 million, then $9 million, and now eight figures.
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Trahan’s playbook mixes old-school daily vlogging cadence with high-stakes philanthropy. Every night, the couple tallies donations, reads messages from families touched by cancer, and posts a new installment the next day. The running bit: the “Wheel of Doom,” a donation-triggered challenge that adds unpredictable, high-shareability moments to an already ambitious itinerary.
The format worked. By mid-July, outside outlets were tracking the money climb past $5 million. Now, with only a handful of uploads left, Trahan’s audience has turned a creator road trip into a philanthropic juggernaut.
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The couple still needs to finalize the remaining states by July 29. Expect at least one more goalpost move, last-minute brand match challenges, and a celebratory finale video that recaps the impact on St. Jude families.
