On the most romantic day of the year, Colgate students put their pre-date rituals on hold to give to a greater cause. The girls of Delta Delta Delta (Tri Delta) sorority joined with the Blue Diamond Society (BDS) and Philanthropists at Colgate (PAC) on Friday, February 14 to host the annual Valentine’s Day Card-Making Festival for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. St. Jude works to eradicate devastating pediatric diseases and would not be able to do their work without many generous donations. The hospital treats all patients free of charge, with the belief that no child should be turned away on the basis on income, religion or race. 

Colgate students, along with families in the Hamilton community, were invited to PAC House to make Valentine’s Day cards for St. Jude patients. The event was open to the general public as a way of fostering greater involvement between the Colgate and Hamilton communities. Flyers publicizing the event were hung around town, given to Hamilton Central School, added to Colgate’s event distribution and posted on Radio Free Hamilton’s website.

An empty room at PAC house was transformed into a room decorated with hearts, balloons and St. Jude paraphernalia. It was filled with markers, stickers and piles of construction paper ready to be made into cards. Though pizza donated by New York Pizzeria and snacks donated by Price Chopper may have played a part in prompting the huge turnout for the event, the enthusiastic crowd came ready to spread holiday love to the children at St. Jude.      

While the card making was the key component of the event, Tri Delta, BDS and PAC used the party as a way to collect money. Donations for St. Jude were taken for several days leading up to the event and further donations were collected at the party. All proceeds went directly to St. Jude. 

As St. Jude is the national philanthropy cause of Tri Delta, it was great to see other student-led organizations, like co-sponsors BDS and PAC also dedicated to the cause and willing to give so much time and energy toward raising money for the hospital and planning the party.  

“It was really great to see so many people show up to this event. We really appreciate the support that everyone showed toward St. Jude,” sophomore and Tri Delta member Emma Loftus said.

“The Valentine’s Day party was both fun and rewarding knowing we were making cards for the kids at St. Jude while also being able to bond with different groups on campus,” sophomore Chiara Martignetti said.

Though the official donation amount has not yet been calculated, it is safe to say that the event was a tremendous success. These Colgate organizations did an excellent job in the planning and execution of an event that will serve to help so many children. A substantial amount of money was raised for the hospital and stacks of cards were made for the patients.