Bucs for St. Jude members give back to the community

JOHNSON CITY — Bucs for St. Jude, a group of East Tennessee State University medical students, is hosting several fundraising events this summer and fall to give back to the community to improve medical care in the region.

Bo Cotten is an ETSU Quillen College of Medicine student who is participating in Tri-Trials, a three-year M.D. program through which he aims to match into Quillen’s pediatrics residency program. With a passion for pediatrics, Cotten sought to form a group that could help with one of Quillen’s most prestigious and heartwarming partnerships: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Thus was born Bucs for St. Jude, a student organization led by ETSU medical students. It is open to undergraduate and graduate students of all disciplines, but those interested in a career in health sciences are especially encouraged to participate.

“As a medical student, I’ve had the chance to work in the clinic and see the amazing care firsthand. It was an incredible experience for me, and it played a large role in leading me to choose pediatrics,” Cotten said. “I want to give other ETSU students across all levels the chance to get involved and experience that same kind of connection that I had.”

The student organization’s latest project is renovating Genevieve’s Butterfly Playhouse in the backyard of Johnson City’s Ronald McDonald House. Last week, the group teamed up with Barberitos to host a proceeds night to benefit the project. Ronald McDonald House has created a fundraising webpage and an Amazon wish list with the necessary items for the playhouse renovations.

On Sept. 20, Bucs for St. Jude is organizing Team ETSU for the official East Tennessee St. Jude Walk/Run, with the goal of bringing as many members of the ETSU community into the friendly competition as possible.

The student organization also is partnering with Eastman Recreation again to host the second annual pickleball tournament, now called Ace the Cause, on Sept. 27-28. The group is actively recruiting participants, volunteers and sponsors for the event.

Cotten, along with fellow medical students Jacob Snipp, John Harbin, Noah White, Sam Cartwright, Molly Lukas and Mei Lin Dye, formed Bucs for St. Jude in 2024. Their first fundraising event, Quillen Pickleball Palooza, raised more than $11,000 for the St. Jude Tri-Cities affiliate clinic located at Niswonger Children’s Hospital.

Since that time, the students have prepared meals for families staying at Ronald McDonald House. In the pursuit of finding even more hands-on opportunities, they learned about the renovation needs for Genevieve’s Butterfly Playhouse.

“We see it as a wonderful opportunity for informal mentorship,” said Dr. Cheri Clavier, adviser to the organization. “It’s a lot of fun, and undergraduate students will get to engage with graduate and professional students who are where they want to be three, four or five years from now.”

For more information or to make a donation to the Genevieve’s Butterfly Playhouse project, visit www.rmhsa.org/bucs.