Video: Organization focuses on student recruiting

In a world where people complain that the youth generation doesn’t do enough for their community, students at Cabrini are working together to help fight childhood cancer. The program Up ’til Dawn was started for college students to help raise money for those who are diagnosed with cancer.
The program started at just one college and has since spread rapidly to include over 100 colleges and universities. Cabrini is just one of the newest participants.
Executive board members for the Up ’til Dawn program are keeping busy trying to get their message to their peers across campus. The board is relying on students organizing groups of five or six to help raise money.
Those who hear that the program is a year-long fundraiser may get nervous because they think that it is a lot of work and responsibility. Senior Megan Beauduy, Executive director of Up ’til Dawn, wanted to make sure that those who are interested know that their biggest responsibility would be to attend the letter writing party. “It’s not a big time commitment, but makes a big difference,” Beauduy said.
These groups are the heart of the organization, because they will help spread the message to their friends, relatives and others around the country. Each member is required to make a list of 50 people they know. They then take the list and bring it to a “letter writing party.”
Everyone on the list of 50 people will receive a letter asking for donations to help fight childhood cancer. Junior education major Jacquelyn Flick got involved because she knew if someone she loved was in the position of being diagnosed with cancer, she would appreciate those trying to help. Executive board members are hoping to have 60 groups register, but will be happy with no matter how many turn out to raise money.
The St. Jude’s hospital, which was founded by the now-deceased entertainer Danny Thomas,and is not only a hospital but also a research facility. Since the hospital was founded, the recovery rate for children diagnosed with the most common form of cancer, lymphoblastic leukemia, has gone up from four percent to 80 percent. Thomas believed that “No child should die in the dawn of life.”
If a child does not have insurance or if their insurance company does not cover the cost of their treatments, the hospital pays for the entire bill. The children aren’t the only ones benefiting from St. Jude. Parents are flown to the hospital and are also given therapy in order to help cope with the diagnoses and treatment of their child.
Katelyn Atwell who was treated at St. Jude said that without the donations of others she would not have survived her illness. “I’ve learned that you don’t have to be a blood relative to be treated like family…YOU made this possible,” Atwell said.