Eight hours of sleep is the recommended amount. For many people, especially that rowdy group known as college students, eight hours of sleep is a tale of mythology.
In 1998, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital looked to harness the energy that seems to power college students and have them direct it toward supporting research against pediatric cancer.
Up ’til Dawn is a student organized service program whose goal is to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. ETSU is one of many schools across the nation that is host to an Up ’til Dawn program.
Though called Up ’til Dawn, the program itself usually takes place over an entire semester during which a number of student-run philanthropic events can take place. It culminates into the final night, where all participants gather to celebrate their accomplishments for the children. And yes, sometimes those celebrations can keep them up ’til dawn. Students stay awake in honor of the patients and families that endure so many sleepless nights at St. Jude. The students’ motto is “cancer doesn’t sleep, so neither should we.”
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital owes its existence to a promise made by a struggling entertainer, Danny Thomas. Thomas vowed, “Show me my way of life, and I will build you a shrine,” before St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes.
That promise and his later success as a television star led Thomas to found St. Jude, which opened in 1962. Today, St. Jude is the single largest center in the United States for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other childhood catastrophic diseases in terms of the number of patients enrolled in research protocols and successfully treated.
Participating in Up ’til Dawn is easy; we ask groups to form as many teams as possible, each team consisting of 5-6 people. The deadline to sign up is Oct. 19, the Friday before the week of Homecoming.
To sign up a team, please send your name and contact information along with your team names to our Team’s Chairperson, Angela, at zaec27@goldmail.etsu.edu. She will send you more information about what your team needs to be doing when she receives your email.
The next step is to bring 50 addresses of friends and family to the All Team Meeting. The All Team Meeting or “Letter-Writing Campaign” is Thursday, October 25, from 2-7 p.m. at the Center for Physical Activity (CPA).
The preformed letters and envelopes will be provided for you at the door. The entire “letter-writing” process takes about an hour. We will have free food provided and prize giveaways to all participants. If you have anyother questions please e-mail our Executive Board at uptildawnetsu@gmail.com
Nov. 17 is Up ’til Dawn Night at the Men’s Basketball game, we will be passing out information and collecting donations
This year Up ’til Dawn will be incorporating a Spirit Points competition. Teams compete to earn the most Spirit Points, at the end of the Finale Event, on Jan. 25, 2008, we will announce the winning team and they will receive their prize/trophy.
Its a good way for organizations who may not have as many members to have a chance to win something without having to have the largest team or raise the most money.
This is an all night event with food, prizes, games and we will announce the teams that earned the most Spirit Points, the most money, and the winners of other various competitions.

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