 Over 200 students participated in Saturday's Dance Marathon from noon until midnight at the Plex, raising money for the Franciscan Hospital for Children.
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While many runners spent last Saturday afternoon taking advantage of the short-lived sunshine and training for the upcoming Boston Marathon, a far different kind of marathon was taking place right inside the Plex. The fifth annual Dance Marathon was held Saturday from noon to midnight. There was much more to this marathon, however, than 12 straight hours of dancing.
The goal of Dance Marathon, as stated in its mission statement, is "to unite the campus in support of a worthy cause through a highly visible event that will raise a large amount of money in an incredibly fun way." The money is donated to an organization that benefits children; this year and last, the money has gone to the Franciscan Hospital for Children, located in Boston. The hospital provides a number of services for the children in areas including behavior a health, rehabilitation, education, research, outpatient services, and more.
Steven Snyder, chief development officer of Franciscan Hospital, said that the money donated from Dance Marathon makes a huge difference. He explained how Franciscan Hospital is a relatively small hospital and the services they provide are very costly: thus, they have come to rely on outside support. "Because we're so small, something like this where you can raise $30,000 or $40,000 can really have a huge impact," said Snyder.
But this year's Dance Marathon participants hoped to raise a far greater sum. They set an incredibly ambitious goal to raise $100,000 for 2007. As of Saturday, they did not yet know how close they had come to meeting that goal. Aside from donations made by businesses in the surrounding area, raffles, and visitors to the Dance Marathon, each of the 200 to 250 staff members, volunteers, moralers, and dancers was asked to raise money for the cause.
While the turnout of BC students at Dance Marathon may seem small, the organization and the popularity of the event is growing. Since 2003 the number of participants has increased and Dance Marathon is able to donate even more money to organizations like Franciscan Hospital. Dan Guyton, executive director of Dance Marathon and CSOM '07, commented that this year the event was "much more accessible," since, for the first time, the marathon was being held throughout the afternoon and evening instead of through the night and lasted 12 hours rather than 16.
