The University Center ballroom echoed with life Wednesday as participants and volunteers occupied the typically vacant room during Up ‘Til Dawn’ s 17th annual letter sending party.
The purpose of the party was to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital by having participants send letters to their friends and families. If the recipient of a letter decides to donate, the money raised will be credited to the participant who sent the letter.
U of M student Mariah Marlowe explained why this party was an important way to raise funds.
“Sending the letters helps raise money from people all over the country that otherwise wouldn’t have a chance to donate because they live so far away,” Marlowe said. “Because students have friends and family from a lot of different places, it helps our outreach for donations.”
As participants walked up to the registration desk, they were handed a bundle of 50 envelopes to address. Once the letters reach their destination, recipients will have the opportunity to mail in a donation for St. Jude.
The event featured music and a game where students placed a “bounty” on one of their friends to put them in “jail.” In order for the student to be released, another student must pay their bail, which was double the amount of their bounty.
All of the money raised during the game will also be donated to St. Jude.
Last year, Up ‘Til Dawn raised over $143,000 for the hospital. Volunteers this year hope to exceed $205,000, which would be presented to St. Jude in March.
The letter sending party is just one way Up ‘Til Dawn raises money for St. Jude throughout the year. Other fundraisers include carwashes, field days and a tacky Christmas party in December.
For volunteer Paaton Karel, it was quality over quantity when it comes to fundraising events.
“We are trying to be more strategic in event planning and not do an overwhelming amount of events, but more so have higher quality events,” Karel said.
All of this leads up to the final Up ‘Til Dawn event in February, where the total amount of money raised will be revealed.
The University of Memphis was the first public institution to start an Up ‘Til Dawn program. According to Karel, there are now over 120 Up ‘Til Dawn chapters across the country. She explained how she got involved with the program.
“I joined to get involved on campus, meet people and make connections, but I ended up falling in love with St. Jude and stuck around because of the cause itself, and because it is just so much fun to do,” she said.
Any student who is interested in becoming involved in the program can reach out to members via Twitter and Facebook.
