Dec. 2, 2022

Students plunge into Colden Pond for annual fundraiser

Seven Northwest Missouri State University students on Thursday afternoon jumped into the chilly water of Colden Pond, continuing an annual event organized by the University’s Up ’til Dawn chapter to raise awareness for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

With a thin sheet of ice covering the pond and temperatures in the 40s, Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” and Foreigner’s “Cold as Ice” played from a speaker as the student participants readied for their jumps. A Maryville firefighter broke up the ice on the pond, clearing a safe space for the jumpers to plunge through the water.

Then, Liz Swafford, Dillon Davis, Garrison Kennedy, Kayla Shelton Torres, Luke Picht, Morgan Picht and Chloe DeVries took their turns jumping into the pond. After climbing from the water, each student received a warm towel and a cup of hot cocoa.

“It was a lot colder than I was thinking it would be, but I’m still glad I did it for the cause,” Luke Picht said.

Added DeVries, “Although it was freezing, it felt very rewarding to jump into Colden Pond and know I helped make a difference.” 

Morgan Picht, who serves as a co-executive director for Up ’til Dawn and participated in the event for a second time, said, “I knew the water was freezing because of that experience, but it’s a fun way to support children who are having to deal with much more intense things.” 

Students were nominated to participate in the event by their peers and then encouraged to create a fundraising webpage. The seven students who amassed the highest fundraising totals were selected to participate in the plunge.

Collectively, Northwest’s Up ’til Dawn Chapter has raised $2,396 so far this fall and has a fundraising goal of $10,000 for the academic year.

Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a major health care center for children and is funded almost entirely through private donations. As both a treatment center and research facility, the hospital is traditionally associated with the fight against pediatric cancer.

Up ’til Dawn is a national philanthropy involving students at more than 200 colleges and universities to honor the patients of St. Jude who bravely fight cancer. With money raised by the Northwest chapter, University students help advance the mission of finding cures so St. Jude patients can grow up and go to college, too.

Shelby Dubishar, a senior art education major from Amana, Iowa, serves as co-executive director of the Northwest chapter and said she was inspired to join the organization after participating in its annual Cut Loose event, which invites individuals to cut and donate their hair to donate to children dealing with hair loss.

“To me, that was a really personal experience because I think the greatest form of service is to people who can’t ever pay it back,” Dubishar said. “As females we’re so attached to our hair, and to give that gift to a girl who doesn’t have it, I think, is so important and so valuable, and through that I got to learn about what St. Jude is and what they do. Why would I not donate my time and my energy to try and better their lives so that they can live another day?”