Letter sending fundraiser for sick children Thursday
Letters sent out Thursday will ask for donations to benefit the children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Up ‘til Dawn is a fundraising event for the hospital from 5 to 9 p.m. in the Rotunda of the Bovee University Center.
“The name signifies the many hours the parents are up with their sick children,” said Karen Arthur, adviser to the Up ‘til Dawn registered student organization. “The hospital in Memphis is a world-renowned treatment center.”
Arthur said students should try to get 50 addresses of family or friends.
“St. Jude provides a letter and the students just address it,” Arthur said.
Students can register in teams at the organization’s website.
“It’s a social event. Just come and hang out and have fun,” said Algonac sophomore Stacy Rix, the RSO’s executive director. “We’re only asking for an hour of people’s time.”
The event will have a carnival theme with food and games. The team to address the most letters will get a plaque from St. Jude and a Buffalo Wild Wings party, Rix said.
“The whole concept is that we want the kids at St. Jude to have the same experiences we did, like graduating from high school and having their first day at college,” Rix said. “It’s all about how many people we can save.”
Rix said the RSO has been on campus about five years and raised more than $68,000 in that time.
Central Michigan University is one of many schools in the country that holds a fundraising event for the organization, he said.
“Last year everybody together raised $7 million. That can run the hospital for an entire week,” Rix said. “It’s a nonprofit hospital so it relies on donations.”
Last year the event raised more than $10,000 with a $20,000 goal for this year, Rix said.
“We want to get as many people as possible,” Rix said. “It’s a great group that actually makes a difference.”
