Hannah Jones/Winonan

Staying up all night has never been much of a challenge for Kelly Bergman. The Winona State University senior said she had always had crazy amounts of energy as a kid.

That inexhaustible pep came in handy last Friday night at Winona State’s third annual Up ’til Dawn event, where Bergman and other participants played, danced and shouted the night away until 6 a.m. the next day.

The purpose of Up ’til Dawn is to raise funds for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, which works to find cures for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases, at absolutely no charge to the families.

For many families, this means their sons, daughters, brothers and sisters have a shot at beating their disease. For St. Jude, it means a lot of money. Without fundraisers like Up ’til Dawn, St., Jude would not be able to provide the same level of care for free.

Bergman first got into Up ’til Dawn in her sophomore year, when her best friend involved her in fundraising.

“Her little sister died of cancer when she was three,” Bergman said. “That really inspired me to do this.”

By 3 a.m., senior Janet Baumgartner, who came to participate with a team from her honors society Kappa Delta Pi, was feeling tired.

But she was not ready to quit any time soon.

“It’s one night out of your life for all the nights they have to stay up,” she said. She was referring to the children who depend on treatment from St. Jude, who often must stay awake long nights in their fight with cancer.

In the past, Up ’til Dawn has been a letter writing event taking place in the evening.

Participants would father and send out requests for funds to friends and family. The event, Bergman said, was a success, but she liked Up ’til Dawn’s new tradition of actually staying up all night to remember the children awake in their beds.

“It’s making people aware of how big this is,” she said.

Activities for the evening were in honor of the young patients at St. Jude.

The itinerary included plenty of Minute to Win It challenges, obstacle courses and rounds of water pong. At the start of the night, participants tried their hands at “syringe painting,” using syringes to spread paint on a canvas.

The children at St. Jude, who frequently receive injections as part of their treatment, often paint the same way in an attempt to turn something scary into something beautiful. Baumgartner and her teammates painted stick versions of themselves on their canvas.

Representing Mugby Junction, the “Super Espresso Diva Queens” painted a mural of the St. Jude logo silhouette sipping a cup of coffee.

Espresso Diva Callie Gustafson carefully outlined the logo with a syringe full of black paint.

Prior to the event, she raised over $400 for her team, using everything from social media to bribing her donors with homemade banana bread.

Whenever participants started flagging, yawning or sitting on the gym floor with glazed looks in their eyes, Bergman was suddenly there with a whoop and a yell of encouragement. With her and the other participants’ enthusiasm, McCown Gym echoed with cheers until it was time to pack up. Even then, Bergman had energy for more.

“My heart swells for stuff like this,” she said. “You are fighting for kids who may not get the opportunity to do what we do—go to college, grow up. It’s about giving them that opportunity.”

By the end of the night, Up ’til Dawn at Winona State had raised $10,454 for St. Jude. The actual fundraising will continue until Dec. 1, so there is still time for those who wish to donate. After that, it’s time to start planning for next year’s event, which Bergman says will be even bigger than the last.

“I love every minute of it,” she said.

Contact Hannah at [email protected]