Volunteers hit record for St. Jude |
| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Mar 11 2009 at 2:22 PM |
Photo courtesy Kendra Francke
St. Jude's Up 'Til Dawn executive members raised $40,081 raised in the first year of working with St. Judes. Member are from left bottom row: Emma Kelly, Madeline Mawby, Caitlin Bos, Claire Bryan, Amy Kratochvil, Courtney Zook, Jenny Gierhan, Sarah Grosz. From left top row: Kendra Francke, Cory Shield, Brad Green, Kendra Solko Allison Thelen, and Tyler Macke. Not pictured: Ashley Blaha, Amber Kirkover and Ben Schleiger.
By Jenny Gierhan
Antelope Staff
"One!...Zero!...Four!"
A crowd of zealous students shouted out numbers to reveal how much money UNK raised for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital last Wed. March 4.
The results: amazing.
The total for the most successful philanthropy project in the history of UNK: $40,081 for St. Jude's Up 'Til Dawn.
"My favorite part of the finale was seeing the look on the members of the executive board's faces," said Co-director Kendra Francke, a senior marketing major from Waverly.
The final total was kept a secret from the board as well as the participants until the big reveal. "I don't think anyone expected to see that large number revealed. It gave me goose bumps," Francke said.
The success didn't happen overnight. Members of the executive board worked on plans for the philanthropy all year.
The greatest challenge was getting people excited about helping. After a week of awareness and a "dorm storm" the executive board had students motivated.
"I am still overwhelmed at the response from the student body and the community. What we did for St. Jude in our first year is something that will never be forgotten, and the bar will only be raised higher in the years to come," Francke said.
In November, 300 participants wrote over 10,000 letters to family, friends and acquaintances encouraging them to make donations to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. There is no doubt of the impact those letters made.
What does the total mean in terms of patient care? This amount equals approximately one-tenth of the cost for a child's two and a half year treatment for the most common form of cancer, ALL (acute lymphocytic leukemia).
The donations students gathered mean another terminally ill child will be treated free of charge. One more family won't have to worry about medical expenses. And another child may live a prolonged life.
Students feasted on Jimmy John's sandwiches, Domino's pizza, wings from Applebee's and literally 800 of The Cellar's famous onion rings to celebrate of their success.
The finale was held off-campus. "We chose the YMCA because of its close location to campus and the fun atmosphere of the Super Gym," said Caitlin Bos, a junior elementary education major from Omaha. Bos was the logistics co-chair.
Attendees were able to play "punch pong," shoot hoops and swing their hips hula "hooping" at the Hawaiian-themed luau. Plastic lobsters and fish were strewn about the gym floor to set the scene.
Within the next week, applications will be available for students who are interested in being on next year's executive board. Look for the form at the Welcome Desk in the union as well as in the student bulletin. Interviews will be held in late March or early April.
"Students should get involved because of St. Jude and the kids. You never know how cancer will affect your future, and I would want to know that somewhere in my life I contributed to a cause that saves lives everyday. It's a leadership and personal opportunity that you don't want to miss out on," Francke said.
