I once wondered why anyone would be crazy enough to stay awake for a 24-hour dance marathon. I couldn't understand why anyone would want to stand in a gym for an entire day trying to keep their feet moving and their eyes open--and then I heard their stories. I saw children who battle life-threatening diseases smiling through their struggle. I watched them run around the gym far past their bedtimes and heard them talk about "the best day of the year."
And then they revealed the total. Every dollar raised by the people who were crazy enough to participate, benefits the children who grew up in hospital rooms and spent birthdays receiving chemo. Every hour we stood represented the possibility that a child who was too sick to start kindergarten's life may be a little bit easier. And that's what a dance marathon is, giving up one day to help improve someone's tomorrow.
To me a dance marathon is not just the feeling of delirium and exhaustion. It's not just the dying desire to want to sit down for just 5 minutes, it's the feeling of accomplishment when you don't. It's the tears in your eyes when the total is finally revealed in the 24th hour. It's the pride in dedicating a day to show the kids that no one fights alone. It's the reality that being crazy enough to stand for 24-hours can change someone's life.
"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do." - Steve Jobs
When you dance, you dance for kids like Caroline, who is battling leukemia for the second time at age 15. You dance for girls like Kennedy, who had gone through over 19 surgeries by the time she turned 13. You dance for boys like Josh, who was diagnosed with cancer a few days after his first t-ball game. You dance for the kids.
I cannot tell you that it will not be exhausting. I cannot tell you that it will be easy, or that you won't want to quit. But if you stand for just one day, if you experience just a tiny taste of the challenges these children endure every single day, you have the power to show them that they do not stand alone.
I can tell you that it will be worth it.
If you would like to donate to Elon University's dance marathon or learn more about our cause, please visit http://www.elonthon.com/#!donate/p6524.
