St. Jude Bearcats sets annual Colden Pond Plunge, fundraising goals with ‘celebrity jumpers’

A student jumps into Colden Pond during the St. Jude Bearcats' annual Colden Pond Plunge fundraiser. (Northwest Missouri State University photo)

Some Northwest Missouri State University students - and maybe even a few other familiar faces on the campus - will have the opportunity to jump into Colden Pond this month when St. Jude Bearcats hosts its annual Colden Pond Plunge.

Each year, students are nominated to participate in the event by their peers and then encouraged to collect funding to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The students who amass the highest fundraising totals are selected to jump into Colden Pond.

This year, however, St. Jude Bearcats also is giving the Northwest community a chance to support "celebrity jumpers" through their donations. By collectively meeting the organization's fundraising goals, the celebrity jumpers - $10,000 for Northwest President Dr. Lance Tatum, $7,000 for Bearcat basketball coaches Matt Keeley and Austin Meyer, and $6,000 for Senior Instructor of English Stancy Bond - will take the plunge, also.

The plunge is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, at Colden Pond. Anyone may donate by clicking this link.

"Fundraising for St. Jude is so important because St. Jude not only fights to find a cure for childhood cancer but also ensures no family receives a bill for treatment, travel, housing or food while their child is receiving care," said Avery Baker, a senior from Maryville who is majoring in applied health with a sports medicine emphasis and serves as the events director for St. Jude Bearcats. "We as a community can come together to support this incredible organization to help continue St. Jude's mission. We never know when someone we love could need St. Jude's care."

Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude 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, 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; St. Jude Bearcats works in collaboration with the University and the Maryville Fire Department to make the event safe for participants.