By Angel Glover
Contributing Writer
The beauty of Sewanee is that, though we sometimes feel confined on the plateau, we have the opportunities and resources to merge with our surrounding community and into the national sphere. At times, volunteer efforts and time spent seems unmanageable. Names on signs seem distant and we’ll probably never meet the children we help. However, diseases and sicknesses strike all our families and us everyday. If someone or some hospital offered to foot the bill, wouldn’t you accept? Sewanee for St. Jude allows us to volunteer our time and resources, while bridging the gap between The Mountain and the outside world.
Historically known around campus as Up ‘til Dawn, Sewanee’s relationship with St. Jude has been maintained by this student-led event that supported this national group and brought attention to fundraising endeavors. Over the past few months, a group of students has made an effort to create an official Sewanee for St. Jude student organization. In creating this organization, students would have an official liaison between the University and St. Jude. This relationship would give students the opportunity to communicate with peers and sponsors, plan events pertaining to St. Jude, and volunteer at campus-wide events in the Easter semester.
This year a committee of four dedicated individuals have coalesced to structure this year’s fundraising efforts and propose Sewanee for St. Jude as an official organization to the Student Government Association. Their hope is to reach a collective goal of $20,000 on behalf of St. Jude by March 31. In working towards this goal, teams of seven to ten students led by a team leader have been fundraising for the past month. Sara Moran (C ’18) comments: “As a team leader, it has been inspiring to see so many of my friends quickly joining my team and becoming so excited and committed to fundraising for St. Jude. I can’t wait to see how much we can raise by the end!”
As a team participant, I am encouraged by the camaraderie experienced by coming together for such a worthy cause. Seeing the excitement of reaching a personal goal and even surpassing them has stimulated my participation each week. In celebration of this year’s fundraising efforts, the planning committee will be hosting a community event Pickin’ on the Plateau, a benefit concert featuring Chatham County Line from Raleigh, NC. The planning committee along with fundraising volunteers will organize ticket sales and coordinate the event. Looking forward, the goal of Sewanee for St. Jude is to support an amazing organization, create a robust relationship with St. Jude, and foster students’ desires to involve themselves with an organization that they are personally passionate about.
Mark your calendars for April 12—you won’t want to miss Pickin’ on the Plateau. For more information regarding Sewanee for St. Jude, contact Claire Perrone at perrosc0@sewanee.edu.