Being on a small campus didn’t keep Baker University students from making a big impact when it came to practicing philanthropy.

The “Up ‘Til Dawn” event took place Friday evening with the goal of aiding St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Brantley Bennett, who served as teams chair on the executive board for the event, thought the number of six-member groups that signed up was excellent.

“For it being our first year, I think having 18 teams was awesome,” Bennett said.

Each participant mailed letters to family and friends regarding general information and facts about the hospital, with the idea of receiving donations for the facility.

In the end, more than 4,500 letters were sent out. The total amount of money Baker students helped raise will be available in April.

Brittany Lob, executive director of the event, felt the policies and goals of the hospital made an impression on many of the participants.

“I think St. Jude’s kind of had a big influence on why a lot of us did it,” Lob said.

The hospital, located in Memphis, Tenn., does not require patients to pay for expenses. Each day the hospital costs more than $1 million to run, so charity donations play a huge part.

Lob said she enjoyed seeing the team spirit displayed by the groups, as a lot of creativity was involved in forming the team names and costumes.

“For me, it was a definite success,” Lob said.

Faculty Adviser Brett Bruner said the board in charge of the event – Funding Chair Kayla Brown, Assistant Executive Director Katie Sellers, Public Relations Chair Rachel Kilian, Entertainment Chair Amber Hauder, Bennett and Lob – really made the event a success.

“They really ran with it,” Bruner said. “They did an amazing job of planning this event. I think ‘Up ‘Til Dawn’ was a huge success.”

The event proceedings started with the letter writing and then moved to Collins Center.

The activities included beach volleyball, basketball, movies, crafts, bingo and other games.

A team spirit competition also took place in addition to several performances, including “Loud Noises” and two bands.

Bennett said she was moved by the participation of Baker students to be involved in such an important cause.

“I just found it really overwhelming, that such a small campus can do such big things for an organization,” Bennett said.