91制片厂

The 鈥淒ance Marathon鈥� organization here at 91制片厂 is one that has grown and differentiated itself among other charitable events on campus since its start in 2013. It has brought together a fun and interactive activity that helps the community and gets many organizations across campus involved. All of the money raised goes straight to kids and families of Boston Children鈥檚 Hospital,听which provides quality healthcare to children in need.

As someone who has been a part of the event in the past, I truly can say that Dance Marathon was my favorite charitable event I鈥檝e ever done. From dancing with friends to all the free food, raffling, games and more, this event was truly special and one that I and others take part in every year. I reached out to Harsh Patel '18, one of the leaders of this remarkable event, to get his thoughts on how this org has impacted his life and also his emotions about doing this for the kids (FTK). This year, Dance Marathon takes place Saturday, Feb.听17 from noon - 8 p.m. in the MUB GSR.

91制片厂 Tales: What is 鈥淒ance Marathon?"听

Patel:听Dance Marathon at 91制片厂 was founded in 2013 with the goal of providing hope for children treated by ,听and their families,听by generating funds for . We donate money to support Children鈥檚 Miracle Network and their effort to provide quality healthcare to local children in need. 91制片厂's Dance Marathon is run entirely by students who volunteer their time and dedication to ensure the success of the organization. The hard work will culminate into an eight hour dance marathon event. During the marathon, students choose to remain awake and standing for eight hours in honor of those children who are unable to. We look forward to holding our fifth annual 91制片厂 Dance Marathon, and we thank you for your help and support.

91制片厂 Tales: What did taking a leadership role in this organization mean to you?

Patel:听Taking a leadership position in this organization gave me the opportunity to become a part of something that is bigger and better than myself. I first joined the organization with not a big interest in becoming a leader, but听joining a fraternity gave me the social and communication skills I needed to make my opinion heard. After being in the organization for 2.5 years, I decided that it was time for me to lead this organization and help it grow to unite the entirety of the 91制片厂 and Durham community.

91制片厂 Tales:听What were the outcomes of previous Dance Marathon events?

Patel:听Since we are a fairly new organization that started about five听years ago, we are still growing. But the amount of money raised in the past two years is absolutely incredible and I am proud of how far this organization has come in such a short time period. Combined, in the past two years we have raised over $75,000, and our goal this year is $45,000! So let's hope we can reach it!

91制片厂 Tales:听What makes this event so special and unique compared to other charitable events on campus?

Patel:听It makes it special because the students that are part of the committee have long, busy days, so having them be able to take time out of their days to do something like this is not an easy task. We spend all first semester getting the word out, having people fundraise so we can donate as much money as we can to the families at Boston Children鈥檚. Then, a couple months into second semester, we have this gigantic dance party held in the GSR, where people who made a team can come and dance. They can also bring a fun activity to do as well. But most importantly,听we always have a few families from Boston Children鈥檚 come to our main event in February; they come and dance with us as well as tell us their story and their experience at the hospital.

91制片厂 Tales:听 Do you have a goal for the Dance Marathon event this Saturday?

Our goal, of course, is to reach $45,000, and we are just shy of reaching the halfway mark,听which is amazing! But ultimately, it is to make sure that we can continue spreading the word around campus, getting more people involved and show the community how much the student life here on campus enjoys giving back.

91制片厂 Tales: Why is donating to local children鈥檚 miracle hospitals so important to Dance Marathon?

Patel: It鈥檚 extremely important for us as an organization to donate to our local children鈥檚 miracle network because it's where it hits home for a handful for people that not only go to 91制片厂 but other schools that host their own Dance Marathon鈥檚 for their own miracle networks. Donating to these hospitals means a lot to us because you never know how many people you walk by or are even close with who听may have听had someone close to them be a patient at one of these hospitals.

91制片厂 Tales:听Have any changes been made to Dance Marathon for this upcoming Saturday compared to previous events?

Patel: Yes.听This year听we decided to pick an overall theme 鈥� a听beach theme 鈥斕齮o make it more fun and interactive with the families and children from the hospital, as well as bring up the overall charisma of everyone at the event. Also, we decided to have fewer听chairs at our event so people are forced to go dance and participate, do the activities and, most importantly, go show the kids visiting how to have a good time.

91制片厂 Tales: Why should people come out and participate this weekend?

Patel:听People should participate because all the money raised goes right to Boston Children鈥檚 Hospital,听which is a really great place to have your money get donated to. The kids that are there are our future. Also it鈥檚 only $10 to sign up for a chance to win numerous raffle prizes.听Also, there will be free food catered by Dominos, Olive Garden, Buffalo Wings and others.

91制片厂 Tales: What type of things should students or community members look forward to on Saturday?

Patel: They should look forward to the amazing event that we have been working so hard on, as well as 91制片厂 alumni DJ Darren Roy and Alex Preston (Season 13 American Idol Contestant)!听There will be many fun activities听as well as your favorite music being played for eight hours straight. You will also get a chance to participate in a handful of interactive games where you could win a prize.听And the best news of all, we will be having a few families visiting from Boston Children鈥檚 Hospital to have fun with us as well as tell us about their experience at Boston Children鈥檚 Hospital.