Greek community holds letter writing campaign for St. Jude’s

On Tuesday night, from 9:30 p.m. onwards, the women and men of Rose-Hulman’s social fraternities wrote 2132 letters soliciting support for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. In addition to writing letters, those in attendance could play Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution, and Corn Hole, among others, as well as eat popcorn, icees, and pizza. WMHD provided music to keep the atmosphere vibrant and alive. Additionally, Interfraternity Council donated $500 worth of prizes that were given away throughout the evening.

People had a variety of reasons for participating in the letter writing, including, “Because I’m a nice person,” and “I get to hang out with my friends and get to help a good cause at the same time.” Helping St. Jude’s was not the only reason; earning community service hours for a fraternity and the possibility of winning prizes.

Suzie Tatum, the representative of St. Jude’s hospital in the Indianapolis region, explained what St. Jude’s children’s hospital does. It is a hospital whose purpose is to “treat children with catastrophic illnesses like cancer and AIDS.” The money goes towards the operating budget of the hospital which is over two million dollars a day. Additional money goes towards researching cures for cases that St. Jude’s treats, independent of outside funding. St. Jude’s does this all without charging the patients they treat or their families.

St. Jude’s hospital treats about 4,900 patients annually, most through outpatient services while maintaining 60 beds for inpatient care. Research performed by the hospital is concentrated on cancer, acquired and inherited immunodeficiencies, infectious diseases, and genetic disorders. The research performed at St. Jude’s hospital resulted in one of their scientists, Peter Doherty, winning the 1966 Nobel Prize in medicine for his work in understanding the immune system.