Mississippi State University’s chapter of the Gamma Beta Phi National Honor Society hosted its first annual Night for St. Jude, a benefit gala which supports St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Saturday night.
The semi-formal event featured a silent auction, a performance by the Maroon Jazz Band, a trivia challenge, a photo booth, as well as a “hope wall,” where those in attendance wrote messages of hope to children at St. Jude who are currently battling cancer.
The silent auction had items ranging from an Insomnia Cookies movie packet to a collectible basketball signed by MSU men’s basketball head coach Ben Howland. All proceeds from the sales benefitted St. Jude.
Emily McCabe, a junior biomedical engineering major from Nashville, Tennessee, and the vice president of Gamma Beta Phi, organized the event. McCabe said the event went well.
“We had a super good turnout,” McCabe said. “We saw lots of faculty, staff, community members, students, Tri Delts, Gamma Beta Phi members and family, and I think it was definitely a success.”
A highlight of the event was two guest speakers who shared their stories about St. Jude. One of the speakers was Brittany Clark, a 2012 and 2014 graduate of MSU, and a Collegiate Specialist for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
In her speech, Clark said she has been deeply touched by St. Jude. Her lifelong friend battled cancer and eventually passed away from a brain tumor after a second relapse. Afterward, Clark said it was a hard story for her to tell.
“For me, telling the story of my best friend is very personal,” Clark said. “But if it helps encourage people to support St. Jude or if it helps bring the mission to life a little bit more, it’s worth it.”
Clark, like McCabe, also said she liked how the event turned out.
“I thought it was clearly very well organized and very well branded,” Clark said. “I think the culture and the atmosphere was very positive and uplifting.”
The event also showed videos featuring stories about children battling at St. Jude, as well as Gamma Beta Phi members sharing their experiences visiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
Taylor White, a senior communication major from Quitman and the president of Gamma Beta Phi, was among the many in attendance. White said the event could not have been more successful.
“We had a really great time, we raised a lot of money for St. Jude,” White said. “We pulled a big crowd, and our silent auction was way better than I could’ve expected.”
In total, Gamma Beta Phi raised over $4,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. As for plans for the remainder of the academic year regarding St. Jude, McCabe said this donation will be made, along with a few other plans.
“We’re going to see if we can start doing a fundraiser to put on the event next year, which would be really awesome,” McCabe said.