For many students, Friday night is simply an excuse to party. Tonight, a group of students organizing "The Dance 'Til Dawn" plan to turn this impulse into a good cause.
The party, which is planned in support of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, will be held from 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. in Jack Magee's Pub.
Students will be required to provide 15 names and addresses of people they know in order to enter the party. The students will then sign previously written letters asking for donations from their acquaintances.
St. Jude is located in Memphis, Tennessee, and specializes in treating childhood cancer and other pediatric diseases.
To date, Bowdoin has been able to raise over $30,000 for the hospital, with an average return rate of $42 per letter sent out. The group has set a goal to raise $20,000 more with this party, putting their total at $50,000.
Ponnila Samuel '07, who became involved with the organization during her first year of college, says that St. Jude's cutting-edge research in bone marrow transplants and HIV vaccines, in addition to the hospital's willingness to share its research with medical communities around the world, has inspired her fundraising efforts.
"Walking inside the doors of St. Jude, I realized how much hope this place offers for the children treated there," said Samuel. "It is a mission that I, too, hope to adopt and a standard to which I hope to live up as I pursue a career in medicine."