Students to host all day fundraiser for children’s hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's student-run fundraiser Up ‘til Dawn will take place Wednesday at the Marshall University Recreation Center.

Up ‘til Dawn was started in 1999, said Sarah Brunette, event marketing representative for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and liaison for Marshall students organizing Up ‘til Dawn.

The first Up ‘til Dawn event was started by students at the University of Memphis, according to the organization's Web site.

Since then, 375 colleges and universities across the nation have participated in their own Up ‘til Dawn fundraisers, Brunette said.

The fundraiser is unique because instead of asking students to donate money, students are invited to write letters to friends and family asking them to make donations to St. Jude, Brunette said.  The letters are pre-written and students will simply fill in who they are going to, sign their name at the bottom and address the envelope.

"It's just asking people that they're close to, to make a donation to St. Jude, whether it be just one time or monthly," Brunette said.

The goal for the event is for each student to write 35 letters. On average, the amount of money donated to St. Jude is $25 per letter, she said.

To put into perspective how much 35 letters can benefit the hospital, Brunette said enough money would be generated from those letters to pay for 20 blood platelet or white blood cell count tests. She said cancer patients often need to take these tests, and they are a common expense for the hospital.

Brunette said although 35 letters per student is the goal, she knows some students may not be able to fulfill that expectation.

"We would ideally like them to write their letters before they do anything in the rec center dealing with Up 'til Dawn," Brunette said. "Obviously some students might not be able to write 35, but anything is better than nothing."

She said all proceeds will go directly to the hospital.  Everything is free for St. Jude patients so donations are needed to cover the cost of treatment, research, housing, transportation, food and other needs.

"So they come in the door, and the one big thing parents are concerned about is how much it is going to cost them, and the people at St. Jude say, ‘Don't worry about it. We cover everything,'" Brunette said.

This is the fourth year that Marshall will participate in the fundraiser, Brunette said.  Students have raised around $45,000 for St. Jude in the past three years. 

"If we can just get as much money as we've gotten in the past few years, we can't complain," she said.

Many events are planned for Wednesday at the recreation center, said Amy Saunders, coordinator of student health education programs at Marshall.

Events include Zumba classes, basketball championships, an open-mic event with Starbucks coffee, a drive-in movie featuring "The Hangover" and a Mr. and Mrs. Marshall pageant that is open to all students, Saunders said. The events will last from 12 p.m. until 10 p.m. 

Students will be required to make a $1 donation or write four letters to participate in each of the events, Saunders said. 

She said there will also be free food, prizes and raffles throughout the day.

Brunette said she hopes having the fundraiser at the recreation center will attract even more students than in the past.

"It's still something that is really, really unknown on our campus," Brunette said. "I would like to make it more known and get some people that really would like to be involved with it and can carry it on to the next few years."

Kelsey Thomas can be contacted at thomas336@marshall.edu.