Up ‘til Dawn has raised $99,928 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The annual celebratory event was held Saturday, Feb. 22 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the Beckerman Recreation Center.

Raising money for St. Jude is a tradition on campus that many students participate in. Often, student organizations will create teams and compete with one another to see who can raise the most money.

The top five organizations for the most money raised were Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Up ‘til Dawn E-Board, ROTC, Love Your Melon and Delta Phi Epsilon.

In total, 76 teams participated. Each team had six students with a required minimum of raising $100 per person. At the end of each year, Up ‘til Dawn throws an all-night finale for the teams that were able to raise at least $600 for St. Jude.

To keep students awake for eight hours, Up ‘til Dawn arranged a series of events throughout the night, which included dance parties, games, and challenges such as Kahoot and musical chairs. There was also laser tag, mini-golf, a photo booth, and a caricature drawing station.

“We’re excited to be here and helping the kids.” said Up ‘til Dawn fundraising chair Kelsie Pace, a senior studying criminal justice.

“I feel like it [Up Til Dawn] makes the campus more empathetic because we are all donating to the same cause.” Said Pace.

According to the St. Jude website, St. Jude’s research has helped increase the survival rate of children facing cancer from 20 percent to 80 percent. All of the money students raise will go directly towards further research for cancer treatments.

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Beth Beaudry

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