Up ’til Dawn charity drive total exceeds $79,000

Students participating in the second annual Up ’til Dawn fundraising campaign at Northwest recently celebrated the end of this year’s drive, which raised almost $80,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.

The total was well over the campaign’s $75,000 goal and eclipsed last year’s debut effort by about $24,000.

Founded in 1998, Up ’til Dawn has grown into a nationwide philanthropy with nearly 200 participating colleges and universities. The campaign consists of a variety of fundraisers held during the fall and spring and culminates with all-night celebrations at each institution.

Northwest’s concluding casino-themed all-nighter took place March 14 through the early morning of March 15 in Lamkin Activity Center. About 300 students showed up for the celebration, about half of the nearly 600 students who participated in the campaign as members of 119 five-member fundraising teams.

According to Campus Activities Director Angel McAdams Prescott, most of the students are members of student organizations and Greek-letter societies. Others were simply individuals who wanted to enlist in a good cause.

“I think the success of Up ’til Dawn at Northwest begins with our student leaders,” McAdams Prescott said. “Their passion and commitment is contagious as is their willingness to go the extra mile to raise as much money as possible. No one wanted to rest on our laurels or experience a sophomore slump.”

Far and away the largest student-led philanthropic effort at Northwest, Up ’til Dawn is unique, according to McAdams Prescott, in its broad-based appeal. “There is nothing else on campus that can bring so many students together for one cause,” she said.

Most of the money for Up ’til Dawn is raised through responses to letters students write to family, friends and acquaintances asking for donations, which are sent directly to the hospital. The rest comes from various events held during the fall and spring trimesters, such as the bone-chilling Colden Pond Plunge, which raised $1,700 in early March.

Other Northwest UTD fundraisers included Burger King Night, a “penny war” at the Fall Classic at Arrowhead football game versus Pittsburg State and a garage sale.

“I am absolutely ecstatic about this year’s results and what we have accomplished,” said McAdams Prescott. “We have now exceeded expectations two years in a row, and I’m so pleased and impressed by our students who have made this possible.”

Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a world-renowned medical institution best known for treating children with severe, life-threatening illnesses regardless of their families’ ability to pay.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Brown,
News Bureau Manager
E-Mail: abrown@nwmissouri.edu
Phone: 660.562.1704
Fax: 660.562.1900

Northwest Missouri State University
219 Administration Building,
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468

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