It was the morning of Sunday, February 21, the day that nearly 2,500 UGA students had had been waiting for since either August of last year or even the day before when they first chose to register for Dance Marathon. Regardless, the past 24 hours had been comprised of the sweat, tears, and gallons of caffeine consumed by the restless and relentless group of students. They danced, they laughed, and even made room in Tate Grand Hall for a workout session with the Fitness Marshall (yes, this is incentive for you to look him up on Youtube). The chairs at the bottom of the Tate Student Center became beds for those like myself who just had to sleep, even if just for 20 minutes. A power nap had to suffice though because who wanted to miss the early morning Rave or the stories told by our Miracle families. Amidst the excitement and celebration, the students that gathered and stayed for the 24 hours of Dance Marathon were set out on a mission: to reach their goal of $1 million for the kids of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
The previous year, UGA Miracle raised a little over $683,000; the year before that, it was a huge achievement that the organization could surpass the $500,000 mark! So how did we get from a little over $500,000 two years to $1 million a few weeks ago? Was it too high of a goal for our organization? Regardless of what we thought at the time, as soon as the talent show for the Miracle children ended we were all seated and given directions to walk outside. Off we went! Where were we going? Outside, down the stairs, and around the Tate Student Center. Lo and behold, before our eyes was a gate to Sanford Stadium.
All around each student was nervous chatter while walking into Sanford Stadium. I suppose that most of us had gotten used to hearing the voices of 92,000 of our closest friends instead of 1,500 of them, give or take. Exhaustion and desperation filled the air to accommodate the longing to see what our work had accounted for. Would we make it? Were we even close? These were the questions that were running through the heads of most students upon entering the stadium.
After filing into the south side of the stadium, we looked to the left at the jumbotron and after a few minutes, numbers began to appear. The number quickly grew from $1. At $500,000, it didn’t stop. $680,000: still not stopping. Excitement filled the air as we had already passed our totals from previous years. Once the number grew past $750,000, silence began to dwindle in. The nerves set in and the anticipation only grew. $900,000 now, but the counting is beginning to slow down. Oh wait, now it’s reversing! And now going back up? Breaths were held, fingers crossed, and students were holding on to each other for dear life, or so it seemed. This was it! We were so close.
The screen displays $1 million and the earth shakes. Cries could be heard from downtown! Alas, more trickery with the words of “That was our goal.” Gasps whistled through the air. Seconds turn to hours. Finally, the grand total is displayed on the screen: $1,068,358.16. The excitement and anticipation has finally been set free. Another year, another goal conquered, and all for the kids.
