Save the dance-a-thon date for the kids

LET’S BEAT LAST YEAR’S NUMBERS — Dance Marathon Dream Team of 2016 holds up record shattering $256,323.13 for Helen Devos Children’s Hospital. (Hope College)

The moment all the students and faculty of Hope College came back for the spring semester, the countdown to Dance Marathon started. For those new students who haven’t experienced Hope’s version of the event, Dance Marathon is a year-long fundraiser for the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital that ends with a 24-hour dance-a-thon in March.

Registered dancers who commit to the full 24-hours must remain on their feet for the entirety of the event as a gesture to the children and families they support. The event could not happen without these students who come out to dance each year.

Students can also sign up to be Moralers that switch out every eight hours. Their job is to keep the dancers excited from start to finish. Different committees run by the students help set up the event and keep things running smoothly. The different committees include Dream team, Family Relations, Morale Squad, Catering and more. When signing up, you can join teams of Greek Organizations, Residence halls and other clubs that are each matched with a child helped by the hospital. Posters are made for each child and hung around the Dow gymnasium showing how much we care.

Last year’s Dance Marathon raised a record-shattering $256,323.13 for the Children. Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI, provides life-saving care to infants, children and adolescents. By supporting the hospital through fundraisers and awareness-events throughout the year, we help it provide crucial programs and services that directly impact the children and families it serves. This year Hope aims for a goal of $262,000. We are already seven percent toward our goal, but we have a long way to go.

Get a start this month for Dance Marathon and sign up to help the event in some way, whether by being a dancer, moraler or committee member. If you find yourself a little overwhelmed, there are other ways to get involved in the cause. Share the Hope College Dance Marathon Donation page and alert family and friends that even the smallest donations toward the event can help.

Mini-events leading up to the dance-a-thon are taking place, so please try to attend. The annual Miracle Silent Auction at JP’s Coffee and Espresso Bar features gift baskets, food, goods, activities, homemade crafts and gift certificates. These items were all donated by the generous local businesses around Holland. All proceeds from the auction go towards the hospital, so go and make a bid.

Blitz Week is next, which is the final weeks of fundraising leading up to Dance Marathon. That week will consist of fundraisers at local restaurants, miracle families sharing their stories in chapel, the semi-annual pasta dinner in the Kletz and other announcements.

The main event will come fast. Miracle families, moralers, dancers, faculty, alumni and community members will all come together to support Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. Get involved; it’s for the kids.