"Up 'Til Dawn" raises awareness for St. Jude Children's Research Hosiptal

ISU students and staff advocated for patients at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Saturday night as a follow-up to the "Up 'til Dawn" letter writing campaign last semester.

"The purpose of tonight was to take some time to acknowledge that there are children at St. Jude's that stay up all night long due to their illnesses," said Kaleb Kerans, junior recreation and sports management major.

Kerans is a member of the executive committee of "Up 'til Dawn" and is passionate about the program.

"The Blue Moon events are held once a month from nine to midnight," Kerans said. "It's a party night."

The theme of the occasion was "Slam Dunk Childhood Cancer," where different games and contests were available for attendants to participate in. These included basketball, corn hole, a Wii bowling tournament, karaoke and arts and crafts.

The crafts consisted of sun catchers and Mardi Gras masks, plus letters to decorate and send directly to patients at St. Jude.

Participants also made their own bouncy balls using certain chemicals provided by the ISU chapter of the American Chemical Society.

Sponsors included Baeslers, ServPro, Union Board, SGA, Koni Karaoke and the American Chemical Society. Koni Karaoke donated her services for both events for free.

The event was a continuation of the letter writing campaign held last November. Students filled out and addressed pre-written letters asking for donations for St. Jude. Nearly 150 students attended that event.

Participating advisors for the affair were Freda Luers, associate director of Student Activities and Organizations, Al Perone, assistant dean of students, Kelli Farris, an educational leadership, administration and foundation graduate student, Pete Millar, a recreation and sports management graduate student, and Michael Sales, a student affairs and higher education graduate student.

"I had the opportunity over the summer to learn more about the 'Up 'til Dawn" program and the opportunity to visit the hospital and meet the patients," Sales said. "It has really changed my outlook towards St. Jude's organization. It's an amazing place. Because of that trip, I became an advocate."

During the party, a silent auction was being held in the hallway to raise money for those participating in Alternative Spring Break this year. The two locations this year will be Memphis and Atlanta. The money raised will help pay for the students' expenses to get to their location and back home. As of now, there are 30 students signed up to participate.

"Students who are going to Memphis will be working mostly with senior citizens," said Crystal Brown, graduate assistant for the Center for Public Service and Community Engagement.

"Those going to Atlanta will be working with refugees and doing tutoring."