They don鈥檛 call it a marathon for nothing. Starting months in advance, hundreds of hours of planning, meetings and fundraising culminate each February with the annual . The payoff: generous support of .
Since Dance Marathon was established in 2003, the student-led organization has raised more than $1.3 million for Children鈥檚 Hospital.
And when the Growing to New Heights Campaign launched last fall to expand Children鈥檚 Hospital, Dance Marathon students rose to the challenge. In addition to supporting a neonatology fellowship, Dance Marathon made a commitment to the hospital鈥檚 expansion, which will help ensure that more infants, children and families receive the specialized services of Children鈥檚 Hospital. and is expected to open in 2017.
鈥淥ur group of nearly 100 students spent this past year defining our goals, and we feel even more prepared to support the families of Children鈥檚 Hospital,鈥� says Abby Horan, president of Dance Marathon and a senior majoring in economics. 鈥淥ur motto is 鈥楩or the Kids,鈥� and we are committed to embodying that principle every single day.鈥�
Kathryn Carell Brown, chair of the Growing to New Heights Campaign, says the Dance Marathon commitment has been an inspiring force. 鈥淒ance Marathon is helping children and families who need it most,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e are so grateful for the hard work and dedication of these students.鈥�