Students raise support for cancer research, treatments during annual plunge

Colden Pond was almost as smooth as glass and temperatures were in the high 40s Thursday afternoon as 11 students leaped into the campus landmark to raise awareness for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The annual Colden Pond Plunge is organized by St. Jude Bearcats and raised $1,405 this year.

Katie O’Donnell was the top fundraiser during this year's Colden Pond Plunge campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. (Photos by Lauren Adams/Northwest Missouri State University)

Robert Keays rises above the surface of Colden Pond after taking his turn to jump in.

Katie O’Donnell, a freshman a sonographic sciences major from Bellevue, Nebraska, raised $350 for St. Jude, the most of any participant this year. Like many of the students, O’Donnell said she was motivated to support St. Jude after seeing family members, friends and other children confront cancer.

“They have all been through so much and they’re incredibly strong and brave,” she said. “I want to help them and be brave for them.”

One by one the participants cannonballed into Colden Pond while a selected song blared on a speaker at the Northwest Peace Pavilion. Introductions of each jumper highlighted their campus involvement and the reasons they chose to participate in the plunge.

Robert Keays, a senior business management major from Raymore, Missouri, dressed in an American flag-patterned jumpsuit and lip-synced to the “Frozen” movie anthem “Let it Go” before jumping.

“St. Jude is important to me because cancer takes a heavy toll, but the work of St. Jude does help alleviate that pain and help families recover,” he said.

The other participants were Allison Black, Alora Bucey, Caitlin Claypole, Spencer Cupp, Jessica Dobbs, Skylar Kline, Victoria Mendolia, Lucas Prater and Jilliane Spiegel.

“It’s important for Northwest students to participate in St. Jude events of any kind to help with the lifesaving research that they do,” said Garrison Kennedy, a St. Jude Bearcats event coordinator who jumped in Colden Pond during last year’s event. “The Polar Pond Plunge, specifically, has a very high impact. It’s very easily seen. The pond is a staple landmark for us, and it draws a crowd when students start jumping in.”

Students are nominated to participate in the event by their peers and then encouraged to create a fundraising webpage. The students who amass the highest fundraising totals are selected to participate in the plunge.

Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a major healthcare center for children and is funded almost entirely through private donations. As both a treatment center and research facility, the hospital is traditionally associated with the fight against pediatric cancer.

St. Jude Bearcats is affiliated with Up 'til Dawn is a nationwide philanthropy involving students at colleges and universities to honor and support the patients of St. Jude. With the money raised by the Northwest chapter, University students help advance the mission of finding cures so St. Jude patients can grow up and go to college, too.

Jumping in Colden Pond is not allowed; the St. Jude Bearcats work in collaboration with the University and the Maryville Fire Department to make the event safe for students.

Caitlin Claypole takes her turn jumping into Colden Pond during Thursday's Colden Pond Plunge.