Dance Marathon raises its own bar with $44,000 fundraising increase

The 2016 UNC Dance Marathon broke their own record, raising $44,000 more than 2015’s event.

From 6:30 p.m. on Friday all the way to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, student volunteers raised money for the patients at N.C. Children’s Hospital and their families with dancing and activities in Fetzer Hall and out on Hooker Fields.

Carolina for the Kids Executive Director Meagan Barger said this year the organization was able to raise $614,717.71 for N.C. Children’s Hospital.

“It was a really exciting event,” Barger said.

Volunteers said they were overjoyed to learn they were making a difference when they learned how much money they had raised.

“We were all ready to fall over at hour 22, but then the total was revealed to us and we were ready to go for the next 24,” said sophomore Jacob Blount, technology chairperson for CFTK.

Blount said the best part of the event was standing up on stage at the end and making eye contact with the crowd.

“I love seeing the gratitude on the faces of the patients and their families,” he said.

Entertainment chairperson Megan Fullarton said this year’s event involved everything from crafts, board games and sports to inflatables out on Hooker Fields.

“The best part was being able to make it a fun and rewarding experience for the dancers,” she said.

Thirty-three different groups performed at the event, including the Achordants, Tar Heel Voices and Carolina Ukulele Ensemble.

“The most difficult thing was definitely the scheduling,” Fullarton said. They planned the 24-hour event down to every five minutes.

The money raised by CFTK will help pay for several different programs that support the patients and families at N.C. Children’s Hospital.

Publicity chairperson Haley Waxman said money will go toward helping families cover the costs that aren’t covered by insurance, such as transportation and lost income from taking time off to care for a child.

Morale and recruitment chairperson Caitlinn LaScala said this year’s event was a success — bringing in more enthusiasm and recruits than previous years.

“Morale was incredible this year. I could not be more proud of my committee members and how they worked with their dancers,” LaScala said.

Waxman said recruitment saw an increase this year with a 25 percent bump to bring CFTK up to 2,500 volunteers.

“We have dance recruitment in the Pit from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day and we hang out by Rams Plaza to try and have one-on-one conversations,” LaScala said.

LaScala and other leaders said the dedication of the volunteers was amazing and essential to the event.

“To the volunteers: Thank you. I can’t express that enough,” LaScala said.

“None of our events would have been possible without you.”

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