Up ’til Dawn raises money for cancer research
Katie Schueth has been there, overcome that and yet, it remains
a large part of her life.
Schueth was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 6
and her mother had just hours to get her to St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., for treatment.
Even now, in her mid-20s Schueth remembers that during her time
at St. Jude the doctors were very kind and understanding, and her
mother was constantly by her side.
“She was always there,” said Schueth, who is now a marketing
executive for St. Jude. “When I was put on steroids to keep me from
getting sick during the chemotherapy, I would wake up and want a
potato and she would go in the middle of the night to get me food
from the restaurant.”
St. Jude has treated more than 19,000 children who struggle with
cancer at no cost to their families, in large part due to
fundraisers like the fourth annual CSU Up ’til Dawn, said Dr.
Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, a pediatric oncologist at St. Jude.
“Our work can only be done with people like those that will
attend Up ’til Dawn; this is what makes St Jude a special place,”
Rodriguez-Galindo said. “Our patients have all the treatments
covered.”
He said transportation, lodging and meals are also covered.
Up ’til Dawn groups of six or fewer CSU students formed in
October and raised money and awareness for St. Jude primarily
through letter-writing campaigns.
Then, from 6 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday, the teams came
together for a 12-hour event at the Campus Recreation center to
symbolize the time a parent stays by his/her ill child’s bedside
during treatments at St. Jude.
This year Up ’til Dawn at CSU raised more than $56,000 for St.
Jude and included about 300 CSU students on 50 teams. The top team,
Delta Force, contributed more than $3,500 and won a trip to Las
Vegas.
Stories like Schueth’s are the reason that Deonte Waldroup, a
senior sociology major, participated in the Up ’til Dawn
fundraiser.
“My mindset is changing as I’m getting older and I’m about to
graduate and get into the community,” said Waldroup, a member of
the National Pan-Hellenic Council team. “This is nothing compared
to what the parents have to go through and to what the actual
children have to go through. One night, 12 hours is nothing, but
it’s symbolic and that’s why I love it.”
Rob Schneider, a junior finance major and team director for Up
’til Dawn, agreed.
“The power that we have to give back is an awesome lesson to
learn about what we can do with life,” Schneider said. “It’s a fun
experience that isn’t a huge time commitment. It’s so much goodness
for such an amazing cause.”
Sarah Hussey, public relations director for Up ’til Dawn and a
member of the Delta Force team, said that although the 12-hour,
all-night finale is symbolic of the time parents are awake by their
children’s bedsides during treatments, the difference is that CSU’s
event is a celebration of the hard work teams have done.
“It’s a huge thank you and a big party for everyone who put the
time and care into fundraising money for St. Jude,” said Hussey, a
senior technical journalism major. “It is symbolic of a parent
staying up all night with their child who has a catastrophic
illness, and even though it might be a little more fun here, it
still gives insight.”
Activities at Up ’til Dawn included card-making for St. Jude
patients, karaoke, a magician and student entertainment groups
Phantasia and The Resonant Ramblings, as well as food and prizes
donated by the community.
Erin Kientz, a senior psychology major and member of the Chi O
Cancer Killers, said the event was enjoyable, in addition to being
sentimental.
“I think the (executive board) did a really good job planning
the event,” Kientz said. “It’s really hard to keep people
interested for a 12 hour event, but I think that knowing what the
night symbolizes also helps fulfill the 12 hours.”
While Blaine Tarr, a sophomore restaurant and resort management
major and member of the Alpha Kappa Lambda team, had fun at the
celebration finale, he said it was not his favorite part of the
fundraiser.
“Actually raising the money was the best part because is it
going to a good cause,” Tarr said.
Ryan Dompier, a senior animal science major and vice executive
director of Up ’til Dawn, has been involved with Up ’til Dawn since
it began at CSU four years ago. He said that while he has seen the
program grow, he also has hopes for Up ’til Dawn’s future.
“It started out as all-Greek and now it is all-campus,” Dompier
said. “The greatest thing would be for everyone to know about it
and be involved at least one year out of the four years; to work on
something they really care about.”
Schueth agreed, but is also happy with how much CSU has already
done.
Her experience at St. Jude as a child left an everlasting
impression on her, and while she hopes that one day there will be
no need for a place like St. Jude, in the meantime she is grateful
for programs like Up ’til Dawn.
“I just want to thank the students at CSU,” Schueth said. “They
are an amazing group of passionate kids and seeing the support of
CSU and the Fort Collins community has been great.”
|
UP ’til Dawn has raised…
|
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.