Fundraiser gets community involved today with first Dance Marathon Day

With only one week left until the big stand, UNC Dance Marathon is going beyond date auctions and benefit concerts.

Today is the town of Chapel Hill’s first official Dance Marathon Day.

Many Chapel Hill and Carrboro businesses will contribute by donating a percentage of their sales or displaying a donation box to raise money for N.C. Children’s Hospital.

Participants include Ben & Jerry’s, Flying Burrito and Carolina Coffee Shop.

“Dance Marathon has years of outstanding track records raising funds for the children’s hospital, and we were pleased to be able to provide some recognition of that,” Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said.

“We want to help them be as successful this year as they have been in the past.”

Carolina Dining Services will host a Dance Marathon dinner, complete with a cake featuring the marathon logo.

“Hopefully by bringing in local businesses and on-campus efforts we can get the community and students involved,” said Dance Marathon Overall Coordinator Sarah Beth Wilkison.

Wilkison said she doesn’t have a fundraising goal for the Dance Marathon Day because they don’t have anything to compare it to.

“Whatever we’re able to raise, I will definitely consider a success,” she said.

The total amount raised from all fundraising efforts will be kept secret until the final reveal at the end of the marathon.

Willoughby Nute, part-owner of Jack Sprat and general manager of Carolina Coffee Shop, said both bars have helped Dance Marathon in the past.

Nute said their Dance Marathon events are always well attended.

“It’s a good cause … It gets a lot of attention and it’s a great way to get students to come out,” Nute said. “It gets people to come here and at the same time raises money for charity.”

Wilkison said she would love to see Dance Marathon Day become an annual event.

“Now that we’ve done it once, we’ll be able to start planning earlier in the year and hopefully get even more support from the community and make it an even bigger event in the future.”

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.