More than 500 Vanderbilt University students will dance the night away to benefit the health and well-being 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 Children‘s Miracle Network.
Students will hit the dance floor from 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, until 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, 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 Children‘s Hospital. Money raised at the event comes from this year‘s Miracle Sponsors including American Airlines, Kaplan and The VenUe, a Vanderbilt initiative that provides late-night, interactive and fun programming on campus for students. Student dancers‘ individual donations and the $10 admission at the door are also included in the event‘s fundraising total.
Last year the event raised more than $112,000 and more than 800 students participated. Student dancers are expected to follow the event‘s rules, including raising $250 each, staying for the full 14 hours and having fun!
Student organizers say there will be more to do than watch exhausted students dance for a great cause. While the program started out as a 14-hour dance-a-thon, it has evolved to include several elements including food, games, entertainment and a chance to meet some of the families who will benefit from the money raised. A silent auction at this year‘s event features autographed items from recording artists such as Phil Vassar and Carrie Underwood.
Started in 1995, Children‘s Miracle Network‘s Dance Marathon is a national program in which more than 80 colleges and universities around the country participate by holding separate Dance Marathon events in the fall through spring.
For more information about Dance Marathon at Vanderbilt University, visit http://www.vudm.org.
For more information about Children‘s Miracle Network‘s national Dance Marathon program, visit http://www.cmn.org/web/programs/dancemarathon.htm.
Media contact: Princine Lewis, 615-322-NEWS
princine.l.lewis@vanderbilt.edu