This year’s dance marathon, now called raiseRed, will be held Feb. 28 in the Student Activities Center Multipurpose Room.
Organizers aim to raise $100,000 from more than 600 participants. The money raised from the dance marathon supports the Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Department of Pediatrics at UofL, and will be used for research, programming and a better clinic for the children.
The dancers are already fired up about the difference their support can make in the lives of children facing cancer. Most students do not care about the amount of time spent dancing, just the amount of money raised for the cause, said Taylor Davis, executive director of raiseRED. She’s been involved with the dance marathon since her freshman year.
“After leaving the dance marathon that year, I knew I would be lucky to attend an event like that again. It truly does exhaust you mentally, emotionally, and physically, and it’s the only time you’ll see hundreds of college students selflessly give their entire weekend to something bigger than themselves,” Taylor said.
This year’s theme is centered on the kids who benefit from raiseRED. Each team will dance for a specific child, and throughout the night dancers will have the chance to meet and talk with the children and their families.
The night will also feature activities other than dancing, including Zumba, yoga, a performance from Cardinal Bhangra, and a GlowGO Dance portion sponsored by Joey Wagner, owner of J Wagner Group and GlowGo.
The last few hours of the marathon, 9 a.m to 11 a.m, will be Community Hour. Members of the community are invited to participate and celebrate the announcement of the final total raised from the marathon.
So far, the dancers have raised over $50,000 toward their goal.
The group is still taking contributions for the event. Those wishing to make a donation can do so online at http://raisered.donordrive.com. Cash and check donations are accepted through the executive board members.
Learn more about the event at http://raisered.org, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RaiseRED, or twitter @RaiseRED_UofL .