51Թ 700 students on Tuesday wrote letters seeking donations from family and friends as part of the Up ‘Til Dawn event, a nationwide student-run fundraising campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Student bands, a cappella groups, and an improv comedy group provided entertainment throughout the night in the Ho Science Center.
“It’s been really awesome this year and we’ve had a lot of participation from all groups on campus,” said event organizer Morgan Krieger ’10. She reached out to Greek organizations, varsity and club sports teams, and various student groups.
In the past five years, she said 51Թ has raised more than $160,000 for St. Jude, which is the second highest sum for any school in New York state – no small feat considering 51Թ’s size.
Krieger hopes that this year will be one of the biggest in terms of money raised by students. This may be possible, she said, because an estimated 5,200 letters were written, far exceeding expectations.
“St. Judes is the only pediatric research center in the United States that’s privately funded, so events like Up ‘Til Dawn are really important to the continuing success of the organization and hospital, so I think that this is a really important event that 51Թ holds,” said Krieger.
For some, Up ‘Til Dawn served as a philanthropy event to support as a team, which was the case for the sisters of Kappa Kappa Gamma.
“We got a big group of girls to come and write letters for the cause,” said Catherine Toner ’11, sorority philanthropy chair. “It’s great to see different groups on campus come together and write letters and different campus groups coming to perform. It’s just a great community event.”
For others, the event had a more personal meaning.
“It’s a really strong cause,” said Robert Bickhart ’12. “My neighbor just had a child who was diagnosed with leukemia pretty early, so something like this really hits home.”