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RELEASED: Dec. 16, 2004
DANVILLE, KY—Sara Luna, a senior government major from Franklin, Tenn., is Centre's Volunteer of the Month. She was chosen for organizing Centre's first golf tournament to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
The golf tournament, held at Connemara Links near Lexington, Ky., fielded teams from Luna's sorority (Delta Delta Delta), four fraternities, other Centre students, parents and friends. Each person playing in the tournament had to sign 30 fund-raising letters for St. Jude.
"So far we've made close to $6,000, but that's not a final number yet," Luna says. "This was Tri–Delt's major philanthropy for the year so we're excited that it was so successful."
The philanthropy is especially important to Luna.
"Four of my friends and I participated in a conference at St. Jude this summer," she says. "It was an amazing experience. The hospital does great things for the families. After seeing the hospital and how much everyone there does for the kids, it was a lot easier to raise money for them."
Julie Janes, event marketing representative for St. Jude, is impressed with the students' efforts.
"Sara attended our summer collegiate workshop in Memphis and got a chance to witness what the families of the children go through everyday," Janes says. "Since that time she's been determined to make this work. She put in a huge amount of effort to recruit teams to play in the tournament. And by having each member write letters about St. Jude to their friends and family instead of paying an entry fee, it was a win-win situation for everyone. There have been more than 2,000 letters sent out to date. So far, the total is $6,000 and still growing. I'm very proud of my Centre College St. Jude supporters, together they're making a difference in the lives of children everywhere."
If you are interested in helping the kids of St. Jude, contact anyone on the executive board or visit http://web.centre.edu/utd/.
The volunteer award program at Centre recognizes some of the many students who provide service to the local community. Each year, around 60 percent of all Centre students become community volunteers. The College encourages volunteerism with a community service day each year as part of the orientation for first-year students.
For more information, contact Trina McFarland, director of community service at Centre, at (859) 238-5479 or e-mail mcfarlnd@centre.edu.
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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/
For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.
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