Bucs for St. Jude began just last year, but has already been hard at work helping to support children and their families through their volunteering and fundraising efforts.
“We started Bucs for St. Jude to make a connection between the local St. Jude Affiliate Clinic, the Ronald McDonald House, ETSU and the students,” said Bo Cotten, president of Bucs for St. Jude. “We started out doing a pickleball fundraiser tournament with the med school, and it really took off. We had a really great tournament, met a lot of people, and decided we wanted to grow it into something bigger.”
This past week, on Sept. 25-28, was the organization’s third pickleball tournament, Ace the Cause. They partnered with Eastman Recreation and the Junior League of Kingsport. The fundraiser ultimately had 186 players, and they successfully raised $5,000 for St. Jude.
Recently, they also participated in their second St. Jude Walk, which took place Sept. 20 at Northeast State Community College. They were named as one of the top teams at the walk and raised $1,500 for the cause.
Bucs for St. Jude has also been very involved with the Ronald McDonald House Charities, a nonprofit organization that provides temporary housing for families with a child receiving medical treatment in the area.
Every month, Bucs for St. Jude hosts a volunteer day where they prepare a meal for patients and their families at RMHC. They’ve also helped with yard work and other chores in the Ronald McDonald House.
Their biggest project with RMHC has been renovating Genevieve’s Butterfly Playhouse. The playhouse was donated in memory of a patient, but had stopped being used as much in recent years. Over the summer, Bucs for St. Jude put in new floors, repainted and added new decorations and features, including a swing and art supplies.
“We really leaned into the butterfly theme and had butterflies everywhere. We wanted to make that a space that they can use again and give the kids a place to play because there’s not a playground back there. That’s another project I think we’re going to strive for in the future, but right now that’s the staple in the backyard and it gives them a place to hang out and play,” said Cotten.
For the remainder of this semester, the organization plans to focus on hands-on volunteering opportunities, with larger fundraising events scheduled for the spring.
They’re currently planning events for the children related to the upcoming holidays, including a reverse trunk-or-treat-style event for Halloween and a holiday donation drive in collaboration with either RMHC or the Niswonger Children’s Hospital.
“Not a lot of cities in the entire country have a St. Jude Clinic. It’s a very unique thing to this area. Bucs for St. Jude started over on the med school campus, but we realized we wanted to grow this to an ETSU-wide thing. So a goal this year is to try to branch out and get the word out about Bucs for St. Jude,” Cotten said.
Bucs for St. Jude is open to all students, regardless of major, as well as faculty and staff. More information about the organization and its upcoming opportunities can be found on their Instagram @bucs4stjude or by joining their GroupMe.
