Twelve thousand letters raising $50,000.
Up ‘til Dawn, a nationwide college campus organization that raises money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, has an MSU branch that set those figures as a 2007 goal.
Club raises research funds
Chemical engineering freshman Katie Mitchell works with friend Lila Wiaduck, a journalism freshman, on their letters for the Up ‘til Dawn letter-writing party Wednesday evening at Student Services. Participants were asked to bring in 50 addresses of friends and relatives who would be willing to donate to St. Jude Children
Since 2003, MSU’s Up ‘til Dawn group has put on a letter-writing party each fall where students can bring in as many names and addresses of friends and family that they can find.
This year’s event took place Wednesday in Student Services, room 328B.
Participants filled in the necessary information on pre-written letters before mailing them out to promote the children’s hospital – a world leader in cancer and life-threatening illness research, said Caitlyn Spitz, a communication senior and Up ‘til Dawn MSU co-director.
The organization hopes donations will result from the letters, Spitz said.
“Everyone knows someone who has had cancer or a life-threatening illness,” Spitz said. “Having people come together to help do everything they can is special. Anyone can get involved and any denomination is appreciated. You don’t need to give $100 or $1,000 – five or $10 is fine and has the same effect as giving $1 million.”
MSU’s Up ‘til Dawn has raised about $100,000 since 2003, said Stacy Ziarko, the group’s adviser and liaison to the hospital in Memphis, Tenn. However, half of the money raised came in 2004, when 9,953 letters were mailed.
The hospital pays for everything through donations: children’s transportation to the hospital, their meals, time spent in rooms, treatments, medicine and all other aspects of a child’s stay. All funding comes from private donations across the world.
“We want to get the numbers back up where they should be by promoting organizational involvement and sending out more letters,” Spitz said.
“The more we do that, the more money the hospital will receive.”
The event featured free food and prize giveaways from both locally and nationally known restaurants and businesses.
Political theory and constitutional democracy senior Sarah Thomas said guest speakers are a vital part of the event as well, which is why they had a recovered child from St. Jude’s attend for the second year in a row.
Thomas, the group’s executive director at MSU, said raising the awareness is more important than anything else.
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“Some have never heard of St. Jude’s, some haven’t and some have but don’t know much about it or how to donate,” she said. “This event helps.”
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