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Up
’til Dawn teams celebrate, remember through finale event
Kathleen Noone ‘04
After raising more than 100,000 in 2003 for patients
at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, members
of the University’s Up ’til Dawn student teams have something
to celebrate. And celebrate they will. On March 19, the group will hold
its annual finale event in Dougherty Hall, an all night vigil/celebration
lasting from approximately 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. It is intended to honor
the patients of St. Jude’s and their families as well as reward
team members for months of diligent fundraising.
When this article went to press, over $90,000 already had been raised
by Up ‘til Dawn teams for the 2003-2004 academic year. Student members
of Up ‘til Dawn are divided into six person teams and each team
must raise $600. The teams bring in the majority of their fundraising
amounts through letter writing parties, held sporadically throughout the
year. Letters are sent out to family, friends and corporations asking
for donations.
“We’ve been working toward this all year long,” Christine
Brooks, Up ‘til Dawn director of promotions, said. “The theme
of the finale event is ‘Celebrate life, it’s worth fighting
for,’…we’re going to have themes for different sections
of the night and we have a certain amount of time allotted for each section.”
Brooks expects the majority of the 700 Up ‘til Dawn participants
to attend. The Rev. Edmund Dobbin, O.S.A, will open the night with a prayer
and a representative from the local St. Jude affiliate in Conshohocken
will speak later in the night. In addition to inflatable moon-bounces,
dance instructors and a Dee Jay, the finale night will also include a
mass and two patient speakers from St. Jude. “It’s nice to
have patients come in and speak because that’s the way for people
to see who they’re working with,” Brooks said.
The majority of the finale night is funded by donations from local businesses,
which provide decorations and prizes as well as food. “About 90
percent of the funding for the night comes from donations,” Brooks
said. “They’re wonderful all year.”
In February, Up ‘til Dawn held a hair drive for Locks of Love, where
local stylists volunteered to cut students’ hair in order to use
it for wigs for cancer patients. Approximately 45 students donated their
hair, contributing 360 inches. This will provide 36 wigs.
Also in February, the group sponsored a new event titled “Capture
for kids,” where teachers volunteered themselves to be put on a
list labeled “in jail” and their students could pay to release
them.
Up ‘til Dawn is a national competition whereby participating colleges
compete to raise the most money for St. Jude’s. At the time this
article went to press, the Villanova team was third in the nation.
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital is the largest childhood
cancer research center in the world. Since opening in 1962, it has treated
19,000 children. Its operating cost is $923,000 per day.
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