Headlines in the Midlands
Dance marathon at USC
by Brittany Moore
USC Intern
Being a senior at the University of South Carolina, constantly surrounded by gifted people, I easily take for granted all of the talented, selfless people I have come in contact with the past four years. As my time at USC is coming to a close, I want to highlight one major event that goes on every year at the Strom Thurmond Fitness Center, dance marathon.
Dance marathon is USC's largest philanthropic event and is held this Friday and Saturday, February 24th-25th starting at 7 p.m. Students have been working on this annual project all year and my Facebook and Twitter have been exploding with excitement and encouragement from all of the participants hoping to raise money for this event to ensure its repeated success.
Dance marathon is a 24 hour event that is full of energy drinks, coffee, dancing, and most of all, passion. The event has upbeat music and bands to keep the crowd's morale up, whether the students decide to stay for a seven hour shift, or brave the whole 24. The students and leaders who participate in dance marathon are so passionate about raising money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, that it is truly humbling. The motto, "for the kids," is chanted by all of the dance marathon morale leaders, all of whom are exceptional students who gave practically their whole semesters up to plan this event and make sure it is a success.
I am embarrassed to admit when I participated in the event my freshman year with my sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, I opted to leave after the night shift was over and did not stay the whole 24. The students that did stay for the whole were not allowed to sleep or sit down and as crazy as this sounds, loved every minute of it because it was, "for the kids."
Dance marathon is not just a fundraiser to help enrich and save children's lives, but it is a celebration of how far we have come in the efforts to better the children's lives of our world. Each dancer is asked to raise $150 dollars, which is easy when you explain the cause, and several businesses around the metropolitan area are happy to donate. Last year alone, dance marathon helped to raise $160,584.
A fellow senior and sorority sister of mine, Brianna Booth describes dance marathon as, "everything we do is completely for the kids. The fundraising, the awareness, and ultimately the 24 hours of dancing all come down to one thing, and that is giving these families hope. We dance because we want to help this community and remind these kids that they have an amazing future ahead of them. We dance for the kids who cannot dance themselves. In the end, after everything is said and done, we stay on our feet for 24 hours for love, hope, and for the kids."
Local high school, Cardinal Newman, is also involved with USC Dance Marathon, and hosted their own marathon to raise money "for the kids," as the first partnering high school. With all of these ambitious young people fighting for a cure, your support is needed to make children's dreams of being healthy one day come true. Come out Friday and/or Saturday to show your support and meet some wonderful children who need your help.
For more information on dance marathon and how you can donate to the cause visit, www.uscdm.org.
