By Hannah Martin

Rampantly scribbling letters to family and friends, more than 400 students packed the Curry Student Center Monday night to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital at the second annual Letters for Life event.

Student group and national fundraising organization Up ‘Til Dawn hosted the event and asked that attendees bring a list of addresses which they would send donation requests. From there, the process was simple – register, grab a stack of envelopes and start writing.

“Our goal is to raise money for the hospital,” said Up ‘Til Dawn NU Chapter President Rachel Tabak.

Last year, Letters for Life raised almost $16,000 at Northeastern, and more than $5 million nationally, Tabak said. This year, the campus goal of $25,000 will hopefully help meet the national goal of $5.5 million, she said.

With the 8,900 letters written at Northeastern so far, she said they won’t know if the goal was reached for a few months.

“Our return rate is about $30 for every fifth letter,” Tabak said. “It’s the only fundraiser I’ve seen to come out with big results on our campus, so that’s exciting.”

At about 7:30 p.m., Berklee College of Music freshman Jon Alston said a few words about his experience at St. Jude, where he spent a year after being diagnosed with lymphoma. He stressed that fundraising for the hospital was an exemplary cause.

“St. Jude is unlike any other hospital,” Alston said. “It’s so kid-friendly – we’re not talking about gray walls and wheelchairs