Play for a Purpose: Belmont Hosts St. Jude Olympics

St. Jude Olympics Graphic, Courtesy @belmont4stjude

Inflatable tic-tac-toe, a three-legged race and a hopscotch tournament will all be available on the south lawn on Oct. 25th, and it’s not for Day to Dream.

Belmont for St. Jude is hosting its first St. Jude Olympics, which will be a field day event to raise money to combat childhood cancer.

“We're just excited that, one, we can put this event on, but then also, we can get more community involvement… doing what Belmont does best and that's caring for their community,” said Katie Craddock, president of Belmont for St. Jude.

All the proceeds will go directly to St. Jude.

“Kids are super important to me, and their innocence needs to be protected,” said Kyley McClung, the vice president of Belmont for St. Jude. “And so if this is something I can do to help kids… I'm just going to do that in any way that I can.”

Executive board members worked on this event for about a year, making sure students can get involved and support the cause.

“We wanted to just put on something that can really grab people's attention,” McClung said. “We're expecting a pretty good turnout.”

This is the first big event they’ve hosted since the club stopped meeting in 2020.

“Originally, the club kind of died off, I think mainly because the people on the exec board at the time, they all graduated, and then no one really picked it up,” McClung said. “So, Katie and I, especially Katie, are the ones that have kind of picked it back up and are trying to get it back on its feet.”

This event is not just for fundraising purposes, but also to build connections between

students and gather involvement in the club.

“Our goal is to reach $10,000,” Craddock said. “As much as we are focused on fundraising, it's also like we want to build community involvement.”

Belmont students are able to participate in games including the penguin shuffle, balance-a-book, a three-legged race, human ring toss, a hopscotch tournament, an inflatable tic-tac-toe challenge and inflatable darts, all while fulfilling St. Jude’s mission.

The president and vice president have played an integral role in reviving the club, but because they are graduating in May, they need to find new people for leadership positions.

“I'm also hoping that maybe people will show interest in wanting to join the club and ask about leadership positions or executive board positions,” McClung said. “And so it's really important to me… that we find people that are genuinely interested in joining the club as well.”

The board has worked together to make this event a reality, and has devoted its time to making the event as successful as possible.

“I am so proud of the executive team and all the hard work they've been putting into this event,” development representative for St. Jude Addie Pratt said.

Students can get involved in other ways if they cannot attend the event.

“There's so many different things you can do to support, not just donating,” executive board member Michele McKee said. “I feel like just learning about it or going to an event will make a big impact, because it's just one more person who is becoming aware of a big issue, and the more people that are aware, the more that we can do.”

-

This article was written by Ava Burns