Gauge Stringer is a freshman who said he didn’t want to join just any campus organization. He wanted to find one that would stay Up ‘til Dawn.

Stringer joined ULM’s Up ‘til Dawn after its interest meeting in Walker Hall on Monday.

He said he liked the idea of helping people he knows nothing about.

“I was looking for a way to get involved on my campus and I know from Prep that this specific RSO was for a good cause,” said Stringer, a pre-nursing major.

Up ‘til Dawn’s mission is to recruit people like Stringer who will make a yearly commitment to raise money for sick children at St. Jude’s Hospital.

Now that Stringer has joined a fundraising team, he said he’s ready to get started.

“Even if I don’t help somebody who’s ill, if I help somebody that I met here tonight, that’ll make me feel good,” Stringer said.

Other males also joined Stringer at the interest meeting.

Board member April Stelly said this was “very pleasing,” since the organization is mostly female.

“Diversity is always a great thing,” said Stelly, a sophomore pre-pharmacy major. “We want a vast majority of people from different organizations, religions and races because then they’ll go back and tell their friends and get them involved as well.”

Stelly said they plan to meet that goal on Tuesday for National Recruitment Day.

“We’re kind of in a competition with other universities and their Up ‘til Dawn organizations and we have a goal of getting 100 people signed up to be on our Up ‘til Dawn team to raise money,” Stelly said.

She said they will be in the Quad Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. and will be there until 5 p.m.

They will also be doing games, selling t-shirts and all proceeds will go to St. Jude.

Meanwhile, Stringer said he wants to make an impact on the children of St. Jude by using what he learns in nursing.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to look at them and not know what they’re going through, but be able to convey to them that I can help,” Stringer said.