Phi Alpha Chapter stayed "Up Til Dawn"

The Phi Alpha Chapter of Ball State University and Muncie, IN, pulled an all-nighter to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on April 9. The theme of the evening was “Cancer never sleeps, so neither do we!” Phi Alpha members and their guests sacrificed a night of sleep to celebrate life and honor families at St. Jude who lose many nights of sleep to stay with their loved ones.

“I am happy to report it was the best I’ve ever been to,” said Jessica Rockhill, president of Phi Alpha, in an e-mail. “We had approximately 150 members attend… We had 10 different organizations and other Greek chapters from around campus come and enjoy the night!”

Participants addressed 50 letters to family and friends asking for donations to St. Jude.

Then, they played “The Game of Life, St. Jude edition,” which included a giant game board. But in place of the regular game’s buildings, players could land at the hospital, The Target House, The Grizzlies House and the Danny Thomas Pavilion. Players each received a card with a common condition treated at St. Jude, and throughout the game they received cards telling them about the experiences St. Jude patients go through. At the game’s end, the players received cards with information about real St. Jude patients who have the conditions that were assigned to the players at the beginning of the game. 

In addition, Gamma Pi Chapter of Indianapolis, IN, joined Phi Alpha for part of the evening to host a Euchre Tournament. The tournament included about 20 players and raised $200 alone.

The total count of donations from letters and money raised from the “Up Til Dawn” event has not been finalized, but the event was a huge success!

A big thank you to Phi Alpha and Gamma Pi for their hard work and dedication to raise funds for St. Jude! We are so proud of Phi Alpha for hosting such a creative and widely enjoyed event! Keep up the great work!