On Saturday, November 12th, Lehigh University Dance Marathon kicked off its event for the 2016-2017 school year. All of the executive board got to Grace Hall at 7am to start setting up and the excitement was buzzing in the air all day. Our volunteers came in and out, and the whole venue fell into place to be ready to house our student body who took the pledge to stand for 10 hours. After 10 hours, we had our final reveal, and let the reality sink in of just how much we did FTK (for the kids). Through the muscle aches the next day, cleaning up the venue, and lifting more pieces of stage equipment than I’d like to remember, the reality sank in of how proud I am to have been a part of this movement.
Dance Marathon is national. Sure, I’m a part of the executive board at Lehigh University, but this is a movement nationwide. That is one element about this that I’m so glad I came to terms with so early on. From prepping to go to DMLC (and failing because certain airlines had computer glitches that caused flights to cease for 48 hours), to being a part of a variety of Facebook groups that have executive board members from across the region, and country, the reality that there are thousands of young adults around this country taking the same stand (no pun intended) to help kids in need. We all have this goal in common, and when we meet each other in person, it’s so cool to have such a similar interest, yet such different stories to share.
I’m proud to have been able to spend time at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the hospital our Dance Marathon benefits, and see just how immense the miracles that happen there are. I have watched the video of Zion’s bilateral hand transplant too many times to count, and I couldn’t be prouder that we support a hospital who made that happen. I’m so honored to have met families whose lives have been changed by CHOP and let the reality of how big the impact of every single person who supports CHOP is. I’ve been lucky enough to be at the hospital for an event and meet other people who have started organizations to support their own journeys at CHOP and raise awareness for any and every condition that effects people’s day to day lives. Through our miracle children, and their families, the impact of CHOP is apparent, and to be a part of something that gives these kids a day of fun, and the chance to be the VIP for the night in a room with people who came out to support them specifically is unreal.
I’m most proud of the impact of being a part of the most amazing executive board I could have imagined. We pioneered huge change on campus this year, and to be honest, I don’t think I could have asked for a better group to tackle it. Every single one of them is incredibly passionate and amazing, and I couldn’t be happier to have had the opportunity to get to them all. We share this common goal, and through every up and down and stressful meeting, we all were there to remind each other why we were there, and make the goal of doing everything we do be “For the Kids.”
I couldn’t be happier that I was able to be a part of the Dance Marathon movement, and though I won’t be a part of it next year, I can’t wait to see what the next people who take over do with it. It’s an amazing opportunity, and every single generation of executive boards will have their own way to make a huge impact on our school, on CHOP, on the Dance Marathon movement in general.
