Students were on their feet dancing with their friends at the first-ever MICDS Dance Marathon last Saturday! In a transformed McDonnell Gymnasium, the all-school event brought together Lower, Middle and Upper School students who danced the night away for a wonderful cause. All participants were there to raise money and support « For the Kids » of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and that they did!
There was something for everyone at Dance Marathon—Giant Jenga and cornhole games, face painting, cotton candy and popcorn, raffles, themed attire, a photo booth, glowsticks, card making for miracle kids, merchandise, a fundraising jail and even a life-sized game of Hungry Hungry Hippos. A DJ guided the rhythm of the night as if he was making a soundtrack of support for such a great cause. « We also heard from children who had their own miracle stories to share, including former miracle ambassador Michael, as well as two members of our own MICDS community, » shares one of the lead event organizers, Jennifer Goldberg ’19. « [The stories] were all extremely inspiring and really helped everyone connect with the cause.
MICDS Dance Marathon was completely student-organized and student-run. Julia Amato ’19 and Jennifer led the effort together in planning the spectacular event.
When asked about favorite moments of the night, Julia shared, » One highlight for me was watching the Morale Committee teach the dance they made to all the students so that all of the grades could learn it and perform it together at the end! » The Morale Committee periodically took the stage to teach their choreography and cheer on all of the dancers.
The evening culminated in the last hour of the event when the committee had a special reveal of the total amount raised, complete with confetti: $12,531.01!
« I am very excited to know that the money we raised will go to help hospitals, doctors and nurses treat children who are not able to do some things that we do all the time, like dancing, » expressed Amato.
A huge thank you goes to all of the student dancers, morale boosters, sponsors, chaperones, volunteers, parents and the Dance Marathon committee who helped make this first MICDS Dance Marathon a remarkable success! Many hope that this is just the beginning of many CMN Dance Marathons at MICDS to come. As Goldberg put it, « I can’t wait to see how far this goes in the future, and my hope is that MICDS will always be For the Kids! »
Be sure to check out even more on the @micdsdm Instagram page, and keep up with the cause by following #FTK (For the Kids!).