There are many different student organizations here on campus; some are social organizations, some are community service organizations. Some are exclusive to Millikin, and some are nationwide and have a Millikin chapter. One organization that fits into the community service and nationwide categories would be St. Jude’s Up ‘til Dawn.

Up ‘til Dawn is a student organization nationwide that’s affiliated nationwide with St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Students who sign up for the organization form teams of six in which as a team they are required to raise at least 600 dollars as a team or at least 100 dollars individually for St. Jude total. If they manage to do that, they are able to attend an all-night event on Nov. 20 to celebrate raising money. The overall goal for the organization is to raise as much money as possible for St. Jude.

This organization has been at Millikin since 2004, although the original program was a letter writing event. But in 2013, the organization shifted away from this at a national level and became the organization it is today. The Millikin University chapter adapted to the new national guidelines in the next school year.

The organization currently is led by an executive board consisting of 10 members with each member having different tasks and responsibilities in the group. The organization is also overseen by faculty advisors, Brittney Gillespie and Stacey Sparks as well as by St. Jude representative Corinne Paul.

On Sept. 29 the organization held their national recruitment and awareness day, in which the executive board hosted tables around campus in hopes of recruiting new team captains for the event as well as spreading awareness for the organization and childhood cancer. During national recruitment day the group managed to recruit eight teams thus bringing the total to 18 teams out of the goal of 25 teams.

The group also managed to recruit 22 new participants, bringing the total from 25 to 47 out of the goal of 150 participants as well as surpassing last year’s group of 23 total participants, 11 of which were executive board members. Also on national recruitment day, the organization hosted a fundraiser at CherryBerry in which CherryBerry gave a percentage of their sales to St. Jude.

In addition to these events, the group also holds fundraising nights throughout the year where members of the group gather together and try to raise money if they are having trouble raising the 100 dollars.

When asked why they joined Up ‘til Dawn, Event and Logistics Committee Member Kori Frankford said, “I got involved with Up ‘til Dawn because it’s a fundraiser for St. Jude. Anything I can do to help St. Jude I will do because their main focus is helping their patients, they aren’t worried about making a profit off the families in terrible situations, which allows parents and other family members to focus on their loved ones. Helping out with Up ‘til Dawn is a way that I can directly help the patients of St. Jude.”

When asked why he joined, Recruitment Director David Braun said, “The reason I joined Up ‘til Dawn is simply because for those of us that are fortunate enough to live healthy lives, it’s our responsibility to do what we can for those in pain or in need. No matter how big or small my impact is on the grand scheme of things I can lay down at night knowing I’m doing what I can to help.”

If you would like more information on St. Jude Up ‘til Dawn and want to keep up with the group, check out the organization’s Facebook page at Up ‘til Dawn – Millikin University as well as the Twitter and Instagram pages, both are @Mu_UpTilDawn. For anyone interested in joining the organization, you can contact Recruitment Director David Brawn at [email protected].