After a successful fundraising campaign last year, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital returned to Ohio University’s Baker University Center Ballroom to encourage students to send letters to family and friends asking for their help in donating towards the cause.
The annual Letter Writing Fundraiser, held Tuesday from 5-8 p.m., asked students to bring names and addresses of family and friends to write on pre-written letters asking for donations to the cause.
In order to encourage student participation, the event organizers gave away prizes such as hats and buttons for students who wrote 25 or 50 letters.
Last year, Ohio University raised more than $6,000 for the charity, and the goal for this year was $8,000. The official number was not available by press time.
“The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment,” according to the company’s website.
The organization works in conjunction with OU because of how well the student body has done in helping the cause in the past. They also look forward to continuously building a long-lasting relationship with the school, because of how well the fundraiser does on campus.
“We want to partner with OU because they have a huge student body that we’d love to reach with the St. Jude mission, and because we’ve seen this school be successful with this campaign,” said Rachel Kerr, event marketing representative of the ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Kerr said she speaks for the charity as a whole when she emphasizes just how vital events and fundraisers like the one held last night are to the continual success of St. Jude’s.
“These events are so important because St. Jude never bills a family for anything. That includes all of their medical treatment, their stay, food, travel, etc. You name it, we pay for it. These bills can add up to the millions for families,” said Kerr. “Events like this letter sending (event) allow us the ability to never have to bill a family because we do it all through fundraising.”
All of the help that the organization gives to others comes directly from events and fundraisers such as this one.
The charity spends millions of dollars each year on treatment for patients, many of whom cannot afford to pay. Events like the letter writing fundraiser make it possible for everyday students to help out and for the organization to continue to thrive, Kerr said.
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