Students on the ETSU campus are staying “Up ’til Dawn” to help raise money for children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Up ’til Dawnr is a student-led and student-run fundraising program for St. Jude hosted by colleges all over the country. Up ’til Dawn not only raises money through various activities, but it also helps to educate the community about St. Jude.
ETSU recently started its own organization and will have a letter writing campaign on Feb. 12 to raise money for the local St. Jude affiliate.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, located in Memphis, Tenn., is a center for research and treatment of catastrophic childhood diseases.
St. Jude deals mostly with pediatric cancers, and since it opened in 1962, it has treated more than 19,000 children from all over the United States as well as 60 foreign countries.
Fundraising by St. Jude pays all costs not covered by insurance for medical treatment for the children while they are at the research hospital.
“My goal for Up ’til Dawn is for people to realize how beneficial and easy this program is and hopefully it will take a huge leap in the right direction for upcoming years,” said Emily Brewer, a student at ETSU and the Up ’til Dawn executive director for the campus.
The letter-writing campaign is an easy way for students to raise money without paying up front costs. Through the letters, the students ask friends and family for donations to St. Jude.
They simply get a team of six people together, which will come up with a list of 50 names and addresses. The team members then transfer the addresses to an envelope and the names to a pre-written letter.
“It’s very simple and the money stays here locally to help the local St. Jude affiliate in Johnson City,” Brewer said.
Students can come to Meeting Room 6 on the third floor of the Culp Center from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday for the letter-writing campaign. Already formed teams will be there filling out their letters, but anyone who is interested is welcome to come find out more information on the program. “There is still time to get a team together,” Brewer said. “We would love to see you and so would the children.”
There are 25 teams formed on campus already, but Brewer said they would like to see at least 50 teams.
On March 12, Up ’til Dawn will have their finale at the Center for Physical Activity. There will be live music, giveaways, and more. The team with the most donations received from their letters will receive a $500 shopping spree.
“This is one program where the entire campus can be actively involved to make a difference in a child’s life,” Brewer said.
If you are interested in being on the executive board of Up ’til Dawn for the upcoming year, or want more information on the program, call the Office of Student Life and Leadership at 439-5675 or email Brewer at zesb2@imail.etsu.edu.

Author