Children's Hospital To Benefit From Up 'til Dawn

By Sara Kitchen

College students typically have a laundry list of reasons why they’ve stayed up until dawn during their college careers, few of which are as good as addressing letters to support the 

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. 

Each year, SVSU’s student-led Up ‘til Dawn organization plans for an all-night letter-addressing party that benefits the Memphis-based pediatric treatment and research facility. 

St. Jude’s accepts all children who suffer from cancer and other catastrophic diseases, regardless of a family’s ability to pay for treatment. 

Volunteers at Up ‘til Dawn are supplied with the materials to send letters to friends and family members requesting donations for the hospital, which runs primarily on fundraising efforts. 

Up ‘til Dawn director and pre-pharmacology senior Ashleigh Corlew led organizational efforts that began early in the semester and produced a registration list of over twice as many students as last year.

Of the program, Corlew said, “I just love it. I’ve been to the hospital in Memphis. You can’t even explain how amazing this place is.” 

Corlew, who returned to direct the program for the second consecutive year, said the group reached more students this year by contacting nearly every registered student organization (RSO) on campus and attending their meetings. 

“We’re still fairly new,” she said of Up ‘til Dawn, which is in its fifth year. “People are still finding out about what we do. We’re just trying to get the word out that it’s a great cause.”

Students who brought 50 addresses or more were entered in a drawing to win an iPod. 

Several students representing RSO’s signed up as teams.

Social work senior Ashley Sherbino volunteered with fellow members of the Student Social Work Organzation (SSWO).

“This is going to a great cause, and what we’re going into gives us a different outlook on what we’re doing this for,” she said. 

Sherbino tapped into her high school graduation open house list to fill her address quota and said she planned to stuff letters throughout the night.

“Even though I have to be up at 5:15 a.m., I’m still staying up ‘til dawn,” she said. “I’ve got lots of Diet Coke and the company of friends to keep me awake.”

Mechanical engineering sophomore and Up ‘til Dawn executive board member Shawn Stover was one of two guest speakers at the event. Stover shared his recent experience with kidney failure. 

“I know how hard getting funding for medical expenses can be,” he said. “With my situation last year, insurance companies paid for everything. I don’t know how I would be able to pay for school otherwise.” 

Stover underwent seven months of dialysis and received a kidney transplant from his father in 2007. 

“It means a lot to me that everyone comes to this,” he said. 

Volunteers also received a performance from SVSU’s hip hop dance team and Forte. A buffet of food donated from local restaurants fueled hungry letter-stuffers.   

Corlew expects to receive updates on the amount SVSU’s letters are generating in coming months and hopes to hit the $20,000 mark. 

She wishes to thank all those who volunteered and contributed to the night’s success.