Every day, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital treats 260 patients, many of whom are unable to pay for treatment, but the hospital never turns anyone away.
With a cost of $1.7 million per day to keep the hospital running, St. Jude relies heavily on public donation.
Up ’til Dawn is a program that uses letter-writing campaigns to raise funds for the hospital. On Tuesday, Ohio University’s chapter of Up ’til Dawn is hosting a letter-writing party from 5 to 9 p.m. in Baker University Center Ballroom.
“St. Jude doesn’t turn away any child even if they can’t afford it,” said Kylie Whittaker, the Up ’til Dawn Impressions account executive. “Going to an event that only requires you to bring in addresses is a really easy way to support a bigger cause.”
“Each year, we host a letter writing party,” said Jenny Casertano, the Up ’til Dawn donations chairperson. “We ask students to address 50 letters to friends and family asking for donations to St. Jude.”
St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute, and getting involved with helping the hospital is easy for college students.
“St. Jude is a really easy way to get involved on campus. With just a little effort you can make a big difference,” Casertano said. “The average donation per letter is $30. It’s everyone giving a little bit for a big cause.”
At the letter-writing event, pre-written letters are available for students to send to as many people as they can. Although bringing 50 addresses might seem daunting, Casertano said it can be as easy as making one call home.
“The easiest way to do it is to call on dear old mom and dad and ask them for their Christmas card list,” she said. “That’s what I did last year, and it worked out really well.”
Everyone who comes to the event is entered to win a $30 iTunes gift card, and everyone who addresses 50 letters is entered to win a $200 Visa gift card. Anyone who addresses 25 letters gets a free Up ’til Dawn T-shirt.
“We hope to see a good turnout because we like to increase awareness,” said Sean Escolas, executive director of Up ’til Dawn at OU. “St. Jude has done research and found that a letter-writing campaign when the receiver knows the sender of the letter works best.”
Food and entertainment will be present at the event, music will play all night long, and there will be a performance by the tap dance team. Participants in the event are required to register on the St. Jude website beforehand, which will allow them to see how many people they send letters to donate and how much they contribute.
“It’s really cool to see how much people donate,” Casertano said. “I just checked and saw an uncle I don’t talk to a lot donated $100, and even kids my age feel good about donating.”
bm257008@ohiou.edu
