The university’s dance marathon swings in to raise money for charity
Students will dance all night to raise money for All Children’s Hospital.
Starting at 4 p.m., the marathon will be held in the University Student Center’s Grand Ballroom on March 3. The competition will continue until 1 a.m. where dancers are challenged to move the entire time.
The event, “A Dance through the Decades,” features DJ Fresh, a professional dick-jockey in St. Petersburg. The music is set to cover numerous decades and genres.
There are alternative opportunities for participants to help raise money while the dance is underway.
During the fundraiser, dance participants can “jail” someone by donating any amount of money. In order to return to the dance floor, “the jailed” must raise the same amount used to put them away.
The dance is coordinated by USFSP Dance Marathon, an organization that works with the Children’s Miracle Network.
According to the university’s website, the students participating in the dance marathon, “Spend a year learning invaluable leadership and life skills while raising funds and interacting with children’s hospital patients and families.”
Students started fundraising in the beginning of the spring semester and currently, the Alpha Phi Omega team has raised the most, at $1,470.
The group’s top contributor is Samantha Mann, who has raised $303.
Students can register the day of the event for only $5, and are invited to bring friends and family along. The event will be catered by a number of businesses including Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, and Tijuana Flats.
So far, about $3,500 has been raised this year by 39 people.
Shane Farmer, the event coordinator, said he is optimistic that the school will reach its goal of $10,050, with 210 individuals registered.
Farmer said that the annual marathon provides a great opportunity for students to help out the hospitals in their community.
Last year, the event more than tripled the expected goal of $2,015 by raising $6,776.
The campus event is associated with the Children’s Miracle Network’s nationwide movement, with more than 250 schools around the country raising money for the CMN hospital in their community.
The mission statement of CMN’S first dance marathon explains why students should stay on their feet all night.
“We dance for those who can’t.”
