Keuka Participates in “Up ‘Til Dawn Program”

If the Up ’till Dawn program gave out a Rookie of the Year Award, Keuka College would be a legitimate contender.Up ’till Dawn is a national, student-led philanthropic program in which college students raise funds for, and awareness of, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.Keuka College is one of 11 colleges in the region participating in the Up ‘till Dawn program and one of four new programs this year. So far, the Keuka organization has raised more money that the other first-year programs and matched or exceeded funds raised by more established programs, according to Thomas D. Iwankow, associate director of St. Jude’s Western New York office.“Keuka is a smaller school that had less training and time to prepare, yet they were very successful in creating awareness about St. Jude in the community,” said Iwankow. “They planned strong events and had a large turnout at their letter-writing event in the fall.”The letter-writing event at Keuka realized more than $9,000 for St. Jude’s.Keuka’s Up ’till Dawn group is closing in on its $10,000 goal and has a two-day student awareness event planned this weekend (May 8-9).It begins Friday, May 8 with a performance by mentalist Chris Carter at 8 p.m. in the Geiser Refectory. The following day features a variety of events in the Weed Physical Arts Center including: * 10 a.m.: opening ceremonies. * 10:30 a.m.: performance by musician Jason LaVasseur. * 11:45 a.m.: performance by the group Fooling April. * 1 p.m.: dance-a-thon/intramurals. * 3:30 p.m.: closing ceremonies.Keuka’s Up ’till Dawn organization was nominated for the Jenzabar Foundation’s 2009 Student Leadership Award.