As the amount of high school graduates enrolling in college increases, so do the stereotypes surrounding them. College students seem to be known for partying, sleeping and consuming highly caffeinated beverages. The media tends to highlight and report the worst things they can find around any college campus, especially the countless hazing and bullying “Greek life” scandals. Even though many look at college students in a negative light, they can actually do great things when they work together.
DePaul is one of the many universities around America that hosts countless nonprofit organizations and fundraisers throughout the year. Although there are many charities that the DePaul student body helps, three big events coming up are DemonTHON, Relay for Life and Cities Project Run.
Becky Dietrich, a DePaul student and second year dancer at DemonTHON, described the event as “the largest student-run philanthropic event on campus.”
In preparation for this event, students sign up and are given a minimum amount of money that they are supposed to fundraise throughout the year. The money raised benefits Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. According to DemonTHON.org, it was founded in 2011, and has since raised nearly half a million dollars. DemonTHON is ranked 17th of 270 national Dance Marathon programs.
During the 24-hour dance marathon, participants stand and dance the entire time in celebration of their fundraising efforts.
“We stand for the kids who can’t,” Dietrich said.
Students in college are notorious for being lazy and stingy with money. DemonTHON is a great example that breaks those negative perceptions.
Another large fundraising organization on campus is Relay for Life. Relay for Life is a global charity event that takes place overnight. It’s designed to celebrate survivors and raise money for cancer research. It takes a lot of dedicated students to come together to register 40 teams at DePaul.
It might seem like college students constantly complain about paying for their own books and their growing student loans. However, at the end of the day, college students seem to realize that the opportunity to have an education is something not to take for granted. Donating time, money and effort to help others is the least self-absorbed action someone could do.
A newer philanthropic event that is currently only at DePaul is the Cities Project Run. This is the first year of the 5k and 8k race to raise more money for Cities Project, which is spearheaded by Dr. Kathryn Grant, a psychology professor here at DePaul. Dr. Grant began the project with “stress research on children growing up in urban poverty.” She wanted to “develop positive coping strategies to get rid of the stressors that get in the way of learning and going into college.”
“DePaul students play a huge role in the project,” Dr. Grant said. The race on May 9 would allow for Cities Project to reach more children and to expand to other universities in Chicago like Northwestern and Loyola. According to the Cities Project website, only 8 percent of Chicago Public School students graduated college in 2007, since Cities Project started in the same year the graduation rate as increased to 14 percent.
It is important to remember that people go to college to learn. One of the best ways to grow academically and personally is to work with others and see change. All of these charity events would not be a success if they didn’t have volunteers and participants. These organizations are taking proactive steps to ensure a better future for many people. The majority of college students want to make a difference in the world, and have undeservingly had negative stereotypes placed upon them. It is time that the media starts highlighting more of the good that comes from college students and their fundraising efforts.
If you’re interested in giving support to any of these fundraising efforts, visit the following websites:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY15LS?pg=entry&fr_id=67661
