(CNN) — Jeff Robertson didn’t take Halloween decorations seriously until 2020, when he wanted to make his kids smile during the pandemic.

Every year since, his yard in Holly Springs, North Carolina — and hundreds more across the country –— has been full of plastic skeletons of all sizes for a haunting but heartwarming cause, raising more than $1 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

That first year, with his windows boarded up, the display’s theme was a house under attack by what Robertson called a “skeleton army” scaling the walls.

When a local news crew covered it, the 54-year-old father of two and Air Force veteran saw a chance to do more than entertain.

“I asked my kids how we could use that attention to help others,” he told CNN. “My son and daughter said, ‘Hey, le

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