May 01, 2012
Date set for 2012 Up ‘til Dawn fundraiser
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Mark your calendars now -- the date is set for Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s 2012 Up ‘til Dawn philanthropic student event to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The fourth annual fundraising event will be at the Student Recreation Center on Nov. 10, with doors opening at 8:30 p.m. and the letter-writing and fun activities continuing from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. More than 1,200 students participated in the 2011 effort that has already brought in more than $65,000 this academic year for the hospital. Donations are still coming in through the end of the semester on behalf of SIU Carbondale’s Up ‘til Dawn. To give, log on to http://getinvolved.siu.edu/involved/up-til-dawn.
There are campus Up ‘til Dawn events all over the country, more than 375 in all, and since SIU Carbondale held its first event in 2009, the registered student organization has raised more than $165,000 for St. Jude. Jessica Stout, a senior physiology/pre-medicine major from Taylorville, has served as campus executive director since inception of the campus event and Caitlin Moliske, also a physiology major from Taylorville, is assistant director. The University’s Up ‘til Dawn won the Program of the Year Award at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 2011 Collegiate Leadership Seminar during summer 2011 and Stout won the Executive Director of the Year Award, both honors for the 2010-2011 year.
Dani Sheley, an interior design major from Taylorville, is the director for the 2012 kick-off event with Austen Knapp, a physiology major from Eureka, as the assistant director. Sheley said the event is important, as St. Jude’s policy is that no family pays for treatments not covered by insurance and those without insurance have no obligation to pay. In addition, the hospital freely shares its research with scientific and medical people and organizations around the world to advance their work.