Sharon Atwell, mother of St. Jude patient Katelyn, said she likes to see programs like Up 'til Dawn carried out, but students may never realize how much they are really helping.
"The money they (college students) raise allows Katelyn to get the very best of care, no matter what it is," Atwell said.
Atwell said that if Katelyn had been placed at another hospital, she would have died and their family would have been billed millions of dollars.
It is 2 p.m. on Friday, and Mary Clayton Wilson goes to the Larry Finch Recreational Facility to help make the final preparations for the 2005 Up 'til Dawn: A Cure For All Seasons.
Wilson, a morale captain for UTD, has spent the last few months helping people raise money and keeping them up to date on events.
"I am excited and ready to know how much money has been raised," Wilson said.
As the other 600 participants registered Friday evening for the finale event, the same thoughts entered their minds. For nearly 12 hours, students went sleepless in the recreational center waiting to hear the grand total.
"Cancer never sleeps. So, tonight we are going to honor the families of patients who lose sleep because their children are battling cancer," Wilson said.
Students at UTD engaged in several activities to keep them awake until 7 am. Games based on the reality TV series "Singled Out" and "Fear Factor" entertained some participants. Others chose to relax with free massages from the Massage Institute of Memphis.
Saturday at 1 a.m. : Wilson is busy supervising the inflatable games, teaching participants the morale captain dance and encouraging her team members to stay awake.
Although Wilson and the other morale captains were unable to have dreams, the UTD participants had the chance to sleep the night away. Students could buy 30 minutes of sleep for $5 in the Nap Room.
Bands like Free Sol put some students in good spirits, but the stories of St. Jude patients and their families told throughout the night held the attention of most of the participants.
The UTD committee and teams used different ways to raise money for the hospital. Along with the Lick 'em and Stick 'em letter writing party, Alpha Tau Omega member Josh Vincent said his team went to different shopping centers and collected donations. Each six-member team had to raise $750 to participate in the finale event.
A team of Sigma Chi members received an award for acquiring the most L.O.V.E. points. L.O.V.E. stands for Living Our Values Everyday.
Jackson, executive director of UTD said that the team earned points by continuously visiting patients and giving platelets, which did just as much as collecting money.
7a.m.: The moment Wilson has been waiting for. "$114,583.91." Wilson begins to hug the board members and morale captains.
"I just can't believe we raised $10,000 more than we did last year," Wilson said.
The UTD fundraiser is carried on nationwide at 135 schools. On average, schools raise $25,000-30,000 dollars.
The University of Memphis started Up 'til Dawn in 1999 and was the first school to put on the fundraising event. Since then, college students have raised more than $8 million dollars. It takes nearly $1 million dollars a day for the operation of St. Jude, and families do not pay anything.
Jackson said it may be hard for healthy, college students to relate to the families of St. Jude patients because they may not know anyone with pediatric cancer. Jackson said she hopes that Up 'til Dawn participants do have a better understanding of St. Jude and how important their contributions are.
"This couldn't have come together if you didn't have a passion for St. Jude," Jackson said.
