The Northern Kentucky University chapter of Up ‘til Dawn held an awareness week Feb. 6 though 9 in the Student Union. The main goal of the organization is to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital located in Memphis, TN said senior English and secondary education major, Brittany Martin.
Martin, Up ‘til Dawn’s exiting president, said the organization makes one dotation each semester as a cumulative amount of what they’ve raised throughout.
“I hope students will see we’re trying to help these children in their battle with cancer,” Martin said.
She said treatments at St. Jude are completely free, meaning the families don’t have any added stresses about money. The hospital costs over one million dollars a day to function, which elicits the importance of organizations such as Up ‘til Dawn whose generosity helps stimulate the needs of the hospital.
Last summer Martin got the chance to travel to Memphis, TN for the St. Jude Collegiate Leadership Seminar and was astonished by her experience. Children and parents spoke during the seminar about stories they recollected from their experience at St. Jude.
“The kids were funny,” Martin said. “They didn’t want to leave because it was such a welcoming environment.”
Listening to the children speak was a motivator for Martin.
“Seeing the emotion of how grateful they were made me want to fundraise more and do what I can to benefit the Up ‘til Dawn cause,” Martin said.
Up ‘til Dawn meets every Wednesday in SU 106 at noon. For more information on the group students can access OrgSync.