Up ‘til Dawn welcomes students to create their own fundraising activities to raise money for St. Jude Research Hospital. Students make a team of six and try to meet a goal of $100 per student or $600 as a team. Once a team reaches the fundraising goal, they are invited to an all night event celebrating success and raising awareness for St. Jude.
Up ‘til Dawn will be Jan. 30 from midnight to 6 a.m. The teams’ fundraised money can be turned in during check-in to the event.
“Our event last year raised over $42,000 and had 52 teams registered to play. This impact [of] our first year on campus was incredible. We are even more excited to announce that so far we have 59 teams registered to play, 159 active participants and around $10,000 raised,” senior nursing major and head of the Up ‘til Dawn executive board Rebecca Stieber said.
Up ‘til Dawn takes place on college campuses across the country. However, Stieber said Bradley’s campus stands out because of Peoria’s connection to St. Jude.
“Since we have a branch of St. Jude here in Peoria there is a huge impact and connection that is made between our campus and the surrounding community,” Stieber said. “This connection is what makes us unique in comparison to other campus’ events.”
Last week, the organization finished its second St. Jude Awareness Week on campus. Members handed out popcorn on Olin Quad, hosted activities with Late Night BU and held a Subway night.
While there are many cancer treatment centers, St. Jude stands out for their full-family support.
“Families get places to stay and grocery cards so that they can focus on the important battles for their child’s health instead of worrying about finances,” junior logistic chair Kait Herkert said. “St. Jude also makes sure that kids still have the opportunity to feel like kids through celebrations and the way they treat patients so that they don’t just feel like patients.”
This year, there is a lot of new features of Up ‘til Dawn, according to junior nursing major Alexy Freed.
“For those who competed last year, the energy, team competitions and St. Jude spirit are back, but everything else is new, starting with our new location in the Renaissance Coliseum,” Freed said. “Each team will be participating in all new competitions and events that the Up ’til Dawn board has created. We also have new emcees and a few new guest surprises as well.”
Students who still want to get involved and form a team may sign up at fundraising.stjude.org/bradley.
