On Nov. 20, Mississippi State University’s Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity will hold its third annual Bulldog for Batson event at the Colvard Student Union Dawg House at 6 p.m.  
Bulldog for Batson, a benefit concert, raises money for the Batson’s Children Hospital, the sole children’s hospital in the state of Mississippi located in Jackson.
Aaron Eftink, service president of Alpha Phi Omega and coordinator of the event, said Bulldog for Batson was created to bring awareness and recognition to Batson Children’s Hospital. 
“Bulldog for Batson is a benefit concert to help out a hospital that doesn’t get as much help as bigger hospitals,” Eftink said. “We try to help them out and get them some support because they don’t get as near as much support as bigger names like St. Jude.”
Eftink said the event will feature live music from local bands such as Sispy Fires, as well as the MSU Drum Line and MSU Jazz Band. Performances from MSU LabRats, Blitz Show Choir, Taylor Doherty, Brandon Wells, Tai Chi, Ethan Foshee and Brandon McAninch will also be featured.
Ben Bailey, senior international business and philosophy and religion major and former vice president of Alpha Phi Omega, said there will also be a raffle. Gift certificates, gift cards, signed sports balls from the MSU athletic department and a signed cowbell from MSU President Mark Keenum will be just a few of the items raffled off at the event. 
Bailey and Eftink said the Bulldog for Batson event will be a place for students to have fun and relax, especially around the time the semester comes to an end and students prepare for final exams. 
“It’s just a very relaxing, fun atmosphere where you can meet a lot of people,” Bailey said. “It’s a great way for us (students) relax a little bit before exams, so that’s something to always look forward to because the semester’s so tough. We always schedule it the week before Thanksgiving break or right before final exams. The semester is winding down, and you have to find some way to unwind.”
Bailey said Bulldog for Batson began in fall 2011 when the mother of a former member of Alpha Phi Omega worked at Batson’s Children Hospital and the members of the fraternity came up with idea of a fundraising event to bring some of the attention and awareness St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital receives to Batson’s.
“We wanted to do something big that semester and start the year off strong,” Bailey said. “We thought to do a fundraiser event because St. Jude is a great thing, and we always support it the best we can, but it kind of eclipses our own state’s children’s hospital. So we decided it was a good idea to build up awareness and raise money.” 
Bailey said the first event was much simpler but successful, and it has since become a tradition.
“It was mostly just coffee-house style music, but it was really successful. And so we just thought to do it again and last year was very successful, and we just decided to make this a regular thing year, so we do it every year now,” Bailey said. “It’s in an effort to sort of remind people of the great resources that Mississippi has, especially a topnotch research children’s hospital like Batson’s,” Bailey said.  
Sarah Burrell, a cosmetologist at Déjà vu Salon, said she began sponsoring the Bulldog for Batson when it started. She said Bulldog for Batson is special to her because she has had a personal experience with Batson’s when her then-three-year-old son came down with an illness last year when she was pregnant with her second child. 
“They were great with him,” Burrell said. “ I have never been to a hospital that was strictly for children before.They’re really very kid-oriented. A three-year-old doesn’t want to have their finger pricked or sit still in a chair and the doctor said ‘don’t worry about it. I have a child at home. It’s no big deal.’ They were very patient with him.” 
Burrell said the staff was supportive of her and her husband during their time at the hospital.
“They have counselors that come around and talk to you as well as the kids,” Burrell said. “Even though I spent a lot of my time crying in the bathroom while I was there, they had people come and talk to you while the children were not there. You can cry, get upset or whatever you want to do while the children are off doing something else.  I felt better because we had been able to talk to somebody.”
Eftink said Bulldog for Batson is a way to give back to children.
“To me, it’s a way to give back to kids that I may not know, but I can still help them and do something for them,” Eftink said. “We don’t make a lot of money from it (the event), but even that little bit helps.”