Although I am not technically an outsider because I had been told what Dance Marathon was and the significance of it many times before the event had begun, I would still consider anyone who has never been involved an outsider.
If you’re a UF student, then you have, without a doubt, heard or read the words “Dance Marathon.” Whether it was during announcements in chapter meetings, signs posted all around campus, your Facebook friends’ fundraising posts, or you tried to avoid it while walking through Turlington Plaza, it has been introduced to you in some way, shape, or form. As someone who decided not to get fully involved with the organization, I have an outsider’s perspective on the passion and dedication of everyone in attendance.
If you’re reading this and have no idea what Dance Marathon is, allow me to fill you in. The Children’s Miracle Network is an organization that raises funds and awareness for 170 hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year to children. Dance Marathon is a program that raises funds for this organization. UF Dance Marathon raises money all year long until the event itself, where hundreds of students stand for 26.2 hours with no sleep and no caffeine. Fundraising efforts started at $12,424.66 in 1995 and are now up to $2,434,315.18 in 2016.
You might be wondering why anyone would want to stay up for more than a full day without sleeping, let alone be standing the entire time. The answer to the question of why is dedication. Not only do dancers, captains, delegates, staff members, and overalls participate in the 26.2-hour-long event, but they put a countless number of hours in before the event fundraising, getting people involved, visiting the miracle children, getting to know the miracle families, and planning the event itself. Watching all of this unfold from the outside gave me a sense of how dedicated hundreds of people are to this cause.
Another aspect of DM that is evident from the outside is the passion that everyone has for the kids. I saw mentally and physically exhausted dancers spending their time with the miracle children, playing with them, squatting down to their level, even though they couldn’t sit, and picking them up even though it was extra weight, all the while keeping a smile on their face without complaint. Then, I began to see where the passion came from. Throughout the event, on numerous occasions, everyone would turn their attention to the stage where a miracle family would tell their story of how they became involved with Dance Marathon and the Children’s Miracle Network. Every story told would bring about tears, chills, and thankfulness that the money that was raised saved that miracle child’s life. Every story told was a reminder to everyone involved that they were standing for a purpose and that those families gave DM participants their passion. So, you ask why would a person want to put in the effort to raise hundreds of dollars just to stand all day long and then some? It’s because of their passion for the cause.
From an outsider’s perspective, Dance Marathon may seem like a bunch of crazy people staying up all night. However, when you take a closer look, you see that it is made of hundreds of people who are making a difference in the lives of many families and who are committed to raising money and awareness for the kids.
