Hundreds of Vanderbilt students will hit the dance floor Feb. 13-14 to benefit the health of area children during Dance Marathon, a 14-hour student-run event to raise money for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and the Children’s Miracle Network.
Dance Marathon will be held from 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, until 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at the Student Recreation Center on Vanderbilt’s campus.
The event is open to the public and all proceeds from Dance Marathon will go to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Money raised at the event comes from this year’s Miracle Sponsor, Kaplan Inc. Student dancers’ individual donations and the $10 admission at the door are also included in the event’s fundraising total.
Organizers say you do not have to be a “dancing machine” to take part in the event. Participants can also play games or simply be entertained with food and live performances by belly dancers from the Middle Eastern Students Association, VIBE – Vanderbilt’s hip hop dance group, the dance line from the university’s Spirit of Gold Marching Band, Vanderbilt dance group Momentum, Vanderbilt Spoken Word, James Brown cover band – The Soul Brothers, hypnotist Michael C. Anthony and the Judah Generation youth choir from Nashville’s Mt. Zion Baptist Church.
Those attending the event will also have a chance to meet some of the families who will benefit from the money raised. A silent auction at this year’s event features graduate test preparation classes from the Princeton Review and Kaplan Inc., classes from Simply Pilates, an Apple iPod Touch, a T-Mobile phone, gift cards from local restaurants and autographed merchandise from Vanderbilt alumni – PGA golfer Brandt Snedeker and Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price.
Last year the event raised more than $140,000 and more than 500 students participated. Over the past six years, Vanderbilt’s Dance Marathon has raised more than $500,000. Student dancers are expected to follow the event’s rules, including raising $250 each, staying for the full 14 hours and having fun!
Founded in 1991, Children’s Miracle Network‘s Dance Marathon is a national program in which more than 100 colleges and universities around the country hold separate Dance Marathon events. Now entering its seventh year at Vanderbilt, Dance Marathon has become the largest student-run philanthropy on campus.
For more information about Dance Marathon at Vanderbilt University, visit www.vudm.org.
For more information about Children’s Miracle Network’s national Dance Marathon program, visit http://dancemarathon.childrensmiraclenetwork.org/.
Media Contact: Princine Lewis, (615) 322-NEWS
princine.lewis@vanderbilt.edu