St. Jude Up 'Til Dawn At UTC Raises Over $40,000 With First Program

  • Monday, February 13, 2017
Students at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga have joined over 100 universities nationwide to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through the St. Jude Up ‘til Dawn program. In its first year, the student-led group has brought nearly 300 students together to raise money for the hospital, culminating with a celebration event this week. With an original goal of $35,000, the group surpassed the goal weeks ago. The group quickly reached their new goal of $40,000 in just the last week.
They have their sights set on raising even more before this Friday’s big celebration event. 
 
On Friday evening, the student-led group will invite their nearly 300 student participants together for the program’s annual celebration to take place in the Aquatic and Recreation Center on campus. The event asks student fundraisers to “stay up for good” six hours from midnight-6 a.m. on Saturday to complete a series of challenges, fun activities, and hear from guest speakers, former patients, and their families about the impact their fundraising has on the organization. The celebration is a culmination of a year of hard work for both the organization’s executive board and their peers.   
 
“For a first year program, I am blown away by what we have been able to accomplish. We had big goals and it’s amazing to see them actually happen. We have been so thankful to have great support from the national organization to make this possible. It has been great to see the executive board and our campus rally around this important effort. I cannot wait to stay up for good on Friday,” said Alexis Hurley, a junior communications major and the organization’s first executive director. 
 
“This effort has been truly student-led. As an administration, we brought the program to our students because of strong student interest and our institution’s commitment to promote the importance of civic engagement and philanthropy. We have many former patients of the hospital who call our campus their collegiate home and who will participate in our celebration on Friday, into Saturday. The money they have fund-raised will truly ensure a family never receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live,” said Austin Arias, assistant dean of students and one of the organization’s advisors. 
 
Fundraising efforts will continue this week through the weekend. Individuals interested in making a gift to the hospital through the organization’s program can visit the fundraising page at fundraising.stjude.org/utc.
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