Dance Marathon is a movement bringing more than 450 high schools and universities across the country together to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals treat over 17 million children each year, and all of the funds raised at a school’s Dance Marathon go to the local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Dance Marathon is the largest student-led philanthropy organization in the country, and since its founding in 1991, Dance Marathon has raised over $106 million for the kids.
Throughout the year, students who are a part of Dance Marathon (DM) at LSU have been working to raise money for and bring awareness to their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This effort culminated in a big event on March 4 and 5, where over 400 participants stayed on their feet for 26.2 hours at Parker Coliseum on campus, also known as the “Barn of Miracles.”
It seems like standing and staying awake for over 26 hours would be extremely exhausting, and it was. However, each hour, a Miracle Family that has been treated at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital (OLOLCH) spoke at the event to share their story. The children treated at OLOLCH range from infants and young children to high school and even college students, with illnesses ranging from kidney disease and staph infections, to rare diseases and disorders, and car accidents. Some kids’ medical problems began at birth, others later in childhood.
Most of the families who spoke to us at DM at LSU had children who spent at least two weeks at the Hospital, especially in the ICU, and some have spent as many as 62 weeks at OLOCH. They all spoke so highly of the care that they received, and as dancers, we were touched by how they expressed their gratitude for Dance Marathon. Each child had the ability to remind the dancers and volunteers why they were there, and that motivated us to continue our around-the-clock challenge.
Every hour on the hour, dancers participated in the “Morale Dance,” a choreographed dance that we were taught at the beginning of the Marathon. The rest of each hour was spent participating in games like Family Feud or Heads Up, doing crafts like sand art or stress-relief coloring pages, and watching entertainment acts from LSU students, musicians, dance acts, magicians, DJ’s, and much more. There was never a dull moment at DM!
This year, DM at LSU was very special because 100 percent of the funds that we raised is going to the new, free-standing Children’s Hospital at Our Lady of the Lake. Currently, OLOL Children’s Hospital is a 50,000 square foot area within the main hospital converted to treat children. Recently, OLOL broke ground on the new state of the art 350,000 square foot hospital built specifically to better serve children. The new hospital is expected to open in 2018. http://www.ololchildrens.com/letsbuildamazing
During the final hour of the event, all of the dancers met on the dance floor for a “Power Hour” to celebrate the total amount raised. After 26.2 hours of staying on our feet, we were elated to see $265,839.65 on the big screen.
When she spoke at Dance Marathon, LSU Dean of Students Mari Fuentes-Martin said, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” At the end of the event, it felt amazing to know that all of our fundraising efforts would make such a difference in the lives of local, deserving families. Thank you to everyone who donated even a penny to DM at LSU. Thank you to all of those volunteers and staff that made the Big Event possible. Thank you to the dancers that made an awesome impact in our Baton Rouge community. Forever FTK!
