Devon Students Stay Up All Night To Raise $25k For Childhood Cancer Research

Devon Prep for Patch.com

More than 130 Devon Prep Upper School students stayed “Up for a Cause” recently to raise money for the internationally recognized St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Devon Prep’s Christian Action Program (CAP) sponsored the event, a 12-hour night of fun and games beginning at 7 PM Friday and ending at 7AM Saturday. They raised more than $25,000 for the Hospital.

Helping Devon Prep kick off this annual event were members of The North Philadelphia Foot Stompers, an award winning youth drum corps comprised of inner city young people who live in the neighborhoods served by St. Elizabeth’s Community Center. Each year Devon Prep conducts food, clothing and school supplies drives that benefit the center.

In addition to the Foot Stompers’ performance, Devon Prep students spent the night participating in a variety of activities including basketball, dodgeball, football, soccer, board games, and video games. Raffle prizes, including various gift certificates, were given away throughout the night.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (http://www.stjude.org/) was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas to find cures, through research and treatment, for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. On average, 5,700 active patients visit the hospital each year, most of whom are treated on an outpatient basis. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay.

CAP began “Up for a Cause” 15 years ago to raise money for charity. Devon Prep was the first high school in the country to attempt this event. In the past, this type of event had only been sponsored by college students. In the years Devon Prep students have been “staying up,” they raised over $300,000 for hospitals that care for ill children.

Devon Prep is a private, Catholic college preparatory school for young men in grades six to 12. The school, which is conducted by the Piarist Fathers, enrolls nearly 300 students who hail from Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, and Bucks County as well as parts of Philadelphia.