This spring, the sixth annual Dance Marathon will take place at the William Flynn Recreational Complex to raise money to benefit the children of the Franciscan Hospital for Children (FHC).
Last year, the event raised over $50,000 for the hospital. Dance Marathon is scheduled to take place on March 29 beginning at noon and concluding at midnight.
The 12-hour event consists of dancing, video games, crafts, and sports and is open to the public for a $5 door fee. At Dance Marathon, there are dancers, moralers, and volunteers.
In order to be a dancer, one must raise a minimum of $125 for the Franciscan Hospital for Children and is required to stay on his or her feet for the duration of the event.
The tired dancers are motivated by the moralers, who cheer on and encourage them.
To be a moraler, one must raise at least $100. The volunteers of the event, who raise $50 dollars, aid in serving food and help run the booths and games.
"The volunteers are the behind-the-scenes people and help run the event logistically," said Erin Diehl, LSOE '08 and Dance Marathon executive director.
These participants raise money through the sale of raffle tickets as well as letter-writing campaigns. Possibly the biggest crowd attractors are the appearances and performances of the various Boston College dance groups. Participating groups include Fuego del Corazon, Sexual Chocolate, and Swing Kids. The groups perform intermittently throughout the day and evening.
In addition to the games and dancing, there will be two raffles with many prizes. The grand prize raffle is a weekend stay in Boston and comes with two American Airlines vouchers, a weekend stay at a Boston hotel, a visit to the New England Aquarium, a Duck Tour, a spa package, and dinner.
Tickets for the raffle cost $25 and are sold by the dancers, moralers, and volunteers to help raise money. The second raffle, the "countdown raffle," is for smaller prizes such as gift certificates to Fire and Ice, Johnny's Luncheonette, City Sports, and other well known restaurants and stores.
"These raffle tickets provide incentive and encourage the participants to raise as much [money] as possible," said Kristin Theiss, CSOM '08 and Dance Marathon finance director.
Larger corporations, such as the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Celtics, also show support for Dance Marathon through donations. The Celtics are donating four tickets to a game that will be raffled off at some point during the 12-hour event.
Most, if not all, of the food and prizes are donated from both local and larger businesses. Due to the length of the event, meals must be provided for the participants.
Local restaurants, as well as BC Dining Services, have been working closely with Dance Marathon to help provide it with its food needs. Allison Tripp, executive board member, director of hospitality, and A&S '10, said that businesses such as Whole Foods are donating a $100 gift card and Dominos Pizza will be providing pizza.
"Our goal was to get everything donated," Tripp said.
Though BC will be having its sixth Dance Marathon, the first Dance Marathon in the country began at Penn State University.
The Interfraternity Council at Penn State University started Dance Marathon in 1973 and hosted a 30-hour competition in which couples attempted to dance for as long as they could.
The marathon raised over $2,000 and would continue for years to come. Two years later, the council selected The Four Diamonds Fund to be the recipient of the funds that were raised.
In 1978, Penn State star football player, Jimmy Cefalo, made an agreement with Hershey Medical Center that all of the profits from THON, another charitable university dance competition, would go toward The Four Diamonds Fund as well.
At the time, THON was a contest that shared its proceeds with the winners of the contest and the charity selected for that year.
However, after merging with The Four Diamonds Fund and Dance Marathon, all of the money raised was donated to a children's hospital to benefit children with cancer.
Similar to Penn State, BC chose to sponsor the Franciscan Hospital for Children (FHC).
"[The FHC] is the only charity we support and it's a little smaller and more closely connected to BC," Theiss said. "[The Hospital] works with our athletes and is just very involved with BC."
The close proximity of FHC to BC makes it easy for BC students to volunteer and visit, as it is just a few stops down the B Line on the T.
The FHC aids a wide spectrum of medical cases in children, from the rehabilitation of children who are or have been fighting disease to those who are victims of abuse.
"The Franciscan Hospital serves kids who need long-term rehabilitative care and there are children who have been in the hospital their entire life," Diehl said. The goal of the FHC is to create a family environment and a type of care from which the children benefit immensely.
"[FHC] is adjusting [patients] back into the real world," Tripp said. "We try to visit at least once. The kids are really fun."
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