My freshman year biology teacher said something to my class that has always stuck with me--something along the lines of "The order of death should go grandparents, parents, then children. When this order is reversed, life is in chaos". Unfortunately, it's a world of chaos we live in. Every school day 46 children will be diagnosed with cancer. Children who should be focusing on nothing more than simply being a kid. When that's the case, why are people not doing everything they can to fix this? Well, some people are, and you can too.

NOVAdance is Villanova's yearlong fundraising efforts in support of the Andrew McDonough B+ (Be Positive) Foundation, culminating in a twelve hour dance marathon. In its first 2 years, NOVAdance has raised over $168,025.29 for the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation. Now in our third year, we have larger goals, more passion, and we're that much closer to putting an end to pediatric cancer once and for all.

The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation was created when its' namesake lost the 167 day fight to leukemia on July 14, 2007 at the age of fourteen. Andrew's blood type, B+, proved to be fitting for his attitude, and became his family's motto for his fight against pediatric cancer. The B+ Foundation now raises money to fund research and provide financial assistant to families affected by pediatric cancer through dance marathons and fundraisers all over the country, just like NOVAdance. It's all about "kids helping kids fight cancer".

Think about what it means to be a kid. Scraped knees and chasing your friends on the playground. The innocence of being sheltered from the evils of the world. Now think about what it would be like to have your childhood cut short. Children with pediatric cancer are forced to mature at a much faster rate. They give up slides and hopscotch for IVs and hospital rooms. Pediatric cancer is one of the greatest injustices there is. Simply put, every child deserves a childhood--they should be allowed to not know cancer even exists.

NOVAdance this year will be taking place on April 9th from 9 am until 9 pm in Jake Nevin Field House. 12 hours of dancing, fun, and helping families all over the country so much more than you know. Our B+ heroes will be there, giving them the chance to just be a kid for the day. The event this year includes a different theme every hour, a lip sync competition, and so much more. It's a day to celebrate our hard work and efforts from this entire year. You won't regret signing up and getting involved--it doesn't matter what you fundraising number is, just knowing that you're helping a child is one of the most rewarding phenomenon. Don't let high monetary goals discourage you, because every penny really does help.

So why do we NOVAdance? We do it for all our heroes who have gone through more than we can even imagine. We do it for the parents who shouldn't have to hear the dreaded words that their child--their world--has cancer. For the 46 children who hear this every single day. For the 49 children who will lose the battle to pediatric cancer this week. We do it because less than 4% of the National Cancer Institute’s annual cancer research budget goes toward childhood cancer research. We NOVAdance because our bad dancing is literally saving lives and providing resources for kids all over the country. We do it in hopes that one day we will live in a less chaotic world. We do it for the kids.

To find out more about The B+ Foundation, you can visit its website at http://bepositive.org/. To learn more about NOVAdance and what we do at Villanova University, check us out at novadance.org . Sign up, get involved; there are tons of ways how. Be there April 9th, and do it for the kids.

B+, it's not a grade, it's an attitude. See you April 9th.