Alright, listen up Henderson! You know what's really great about you? You raise some pretty great people! But it seems to me like in any small town, people are raised here and move on to do great things in other places -- which gives us small towners something to be proud of -- but it's hard to ignite that fire of giving back to the place you came from and encouraging young people to come back home after college when a lot of us tend to move on and never look back. However, the past few times I've been back to Henderson, I've sensed that this is changing. Good news? Now you can be a part of it! I have your solution, Henderson (well, one solid power move for starts and then we can talk about the rest of my plan)! I know how much support you have for your Wildcats, so let's prove it!
What if I told you there was something you could spend the Sunday of your holiday weekend doing where you get to spend six hours with your closest friends and amazing people from Henderson of all ages? What if I told you there was going to be DJ? T-shirts? Food? Games? What if I told you this whole thing was only $30? But it gets better -- what if I told you it was all For The Kids?
No worries -- it's true and it's happening Sunday, Jan. 17 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the HCHS Auxiliary Gym. This amazing event is called Colonel Craze, and I am here to cordially invite you to something that I hope to be an annual event for Hendersonians to come together and raise funds, awareness, and support for a cause bigger than oneself.
What is it?
Colonel Craze is Henderson's first DanceBlue mini-dance-marathon! We will be on our feet for six hours to promote awareness and raise funds for the DanceBlue Kentucky Children's Hospital Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic, right on UK's campus! DanceBlue is going into its 11th year and we are excited to get Henderson County involved in this new decade of dancing! To learn more about our mission, check it out at danceable.org!
What is DanceBlue?
DanceBlue at the University of Kentucky is a year-long fundraising effort that involves anything from mini-marathons to fundraising nights at restaurants, to our annual 5K run -- all of which culminates in a 24-hour dance marathon in February! At DanceBlue, students stand for 24 hours straight and participate in games, community service, and of course, lots of dancing. Our marathon celebrates the life of the kids we serve and that my friends is the most beautiful part of it all.
All of the money raised through DanceBlue is donated to the Golden Matrix Fund, which works to support the kids and families of the DanceBlue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic. Childhood cancer not only affects the child physically, but it also creates many emotional and financial difficulties for the entire family. The goal of the Golden Matrix Fund is to provide care and support FTK (For the Kids) as the fight their battle of cancer and for one day to dance in celebration of a cure.
Is it for me?
Henderson, let me ask you a question that has seem to taken over the University of Kentucky: why not? While this mostly is related to our football team, it is something that challenges yourself and that applies most perfectly to this situation. This is a chance for you to make an impact on the Commonwealth of Kentucky and invest in our future. Our future as the city of Henderson, cancer warriors, the University of Kentucky, DanceBlue and everything that it stands for.
As a Henderson native, I have learned a lot here during my time at UK and an infinite amount of those lessons would not exist if DanceBlue didn't find me. DanceBlue isn't just a thing, an event, a group of people or a clinic. DanceBlue is a feeling, it's a fire fueled by people like you. DanceBlue is a family. It's contagious in the best way possible! Henderson, Colonel Craze and DanceBlue is for you and allowing you to see that is my goal for the article.
How do I become #FTK?
Our original deadline has been extended! You can now register for Colonel Craze up until the event begins! You don't want to miss this!
Register here and submit your $30 donation! Donate here.
Sign up to volunteer! With a $15 donation!
Like us on Facebook! See WHY we do what we do!
And most importantly, share this with your friends and family! These mini-marathons take place all around the Commonwealth, and it is our job to show the rest of Kentucky that Henderson is ready to put on our dancing shoes FOR THE KIDS!
Henderson, join us Jan. 17 to learn a mini line dance from UK volunteers that we will do all together on the hour, every hour with fun, games and snacks in between. This inaugural event is sure to ignite that fire in Henderson that we all know is there.
Together we can foster a community of students servings students and families serving families -- all for the kids!
