1,600 UNC Students Take a Stand for N.C.

Childrens Hospital
Chapel Hill, Feb. 19 Most would expect a big-name speaker to open a major event, but not at the 2011 UNC Dance Marathon. Ten-year-old Asheton Ayotte took charge of the countdown to begin the marathon. The next 24 hours would be the culminating event of the largest student-run fundraiser in North Carolina. Some 1,600 students pledged to take a symbolic stand for the patients and families of N.C. Childrens Hospital. The 13th annual UNC Dance Marathon, held in UNC-Chapel Hills Fetzer Gym, began 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18 and ended 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19. Its so much better than I expected, said Overall Coordinator Sarah Beth Wilkinson of the marathon. Weve been working on this since last April and its awesome. I wouldnt change anything. Junior Brittany Smith, a second year dancer and member of the Publicity committee, had similar feelings. Im feeling exhausted but optimistic, said Smith. You just have to keep moving. Its been an incredible experience and its definitely worth it in the end. Twenty-four Kid Co-captains joined the dancers in their celebrations. Kid Co-captains are children who have a connection to N.C. Childrens Hospital. Some have been affected by UNC Dance Marathon funds, while others have been touched by the hospital. The Kid Co-captains were introduced 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Eleven-year-old Karolyne Batey expressed appreciation for all of the dancers, moralers and volunteers. I think its really great that people would stand for 24 hours for us, said Batey. The festivities ended with family hour, a one-hour opportunity for dancers, moralers and volunteers to hear personal stories from patients, families and hospital staff. The 2010-2011 UNC-DM grand total fundraising amount for the patients and families of N.C. Childrens Hospital, revealed at 7:25 p.m., was $436,709.61. This was about $14,000 more than last years total. Up-and-coming performer Jake Troth kicked off the marathon with the first performance. This year the marathon featured a World Tour theme and included UNC-CH students reveling in around-the-clock entertainment ranging from student DJs and on-campus A cappella groups, to dance teams, exercise groups and athletic teams. The yoga was clutch, said senior Stephen Estes, a fourth-year dancer. The Carolina Blues band was great and lively which gave us a lot of energy in the afternoon. UNC-DM has demonstrated tremendous and consistent growth since its inaugural year in 1998 and boasts a 13-year fundraising total of more than $2.8 million. The 2011 UNC Dance Marathon was the most successful to date, raising over $430,000. Numbers like these gave participants at the 24-hour marathon much cause for celebration, of course, but these fundraising totals are a result of students' year-round, rather than day-of, efforts. More than 300 students served on 13 different committees (each responsible for different aspects of the marathons operations) and promotde the marathon and its cause at various fundraising events throughout the year. This year alone, committee members organized the fourth annual UNC Dance Marathon Homecoming Golf Classic, Trick-orTreat for Kids Who Cant, one beach music benefit concert, the eighth annual Benefit Reception at the Franklin Hotel, and many other exciting events. They also worked tirelessly at money-collection drives at UNC football and basketball games and secured individual donations from UNC students in classrooms throughout campus. Its been really good to work the whole year because it culminates in this event, said Event Donations Committee Sub-chair Christina Faison, a sophomore and a second-year dancer. I worked to get donations for the golf tournament in the fall. I got over $800 in one donation, and telling my Chair was so exciting. This year's marathon dancers were divided into 24 teams, each led by a captain from the Morale committee. Teams

competed together in a variety of events centered on this years World Tour theme. Dancers were joined by hundreds of other student volunteers and campus and community members. Each hour, dancers performed UNCDMs traditional line dance, choreographed and taught by UNC-DM Morale committee. Participants danced to a mix of songs in which lyrics are changed to recap the past years significant events. At 5:15 a.m., dancers were surprised with Mail Drop, where they received gifts, UNC-DM merchandise, letters and inspirational cards from their team captains, family and friends. Some notable events from the marathon were as follows: 7:20 p.m. Overall Coordinator Sarah Beth Wilkison spoke 7:25 p.m. The Ayotte family, a Kid Co-captain family, spoke 7:30 p.m. Dancers stood up, kickoff speaker spoke 8:00 p.m. Morale committee taught the line dance to dancers 8:30 p.m. Amazing Race competition began with a first activity 9:00 p.m. Singer Jake Troth performed 6:30 a.m. Dancers watched the sunrise in Kenan Stadium 11:30 a.m. Tailgate on the athletic fields 5:00 p.m. Vermonster ice cream eating competition 5:30 p.m. Introduced the Kid Co-captains 6:15 p.m. Patient and family hour; dancer/patient/family meet-and-greet 7:10 p.m. Multimedia pieces covering year-long fundraising efforts 7:25 p.m. Total amount raised revealed 7:30 p.m. Last line dance; dancers sat down Apart from donations raised, the marathon can also be summed up in the following way: 12 years 58 scoops of ice cream 13 committees 14 miles of duct tape 293 committee members 600 banners 314 tie dye tshirts 50 sponsors 46 fundraising events 39 performers 10 games of canning 277 moralers 42 hospital visits 255 volunteers 12 kid co captains 1600 dancers 14 line dances 1 cause 24 hours The public was also encouraged to attend and lend their support throughout the 24-hour celebration. For more information about the 2010 UNC Dance Marathon, please visit www.uncmarathon.org. ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL North Carolina Children's Hospital protects the health and well-being of North Carolina's 2.1 million children by aligning premier health care practitioners, world-class medical education, and innovative, interdisciplinary research to provide the highest-quality, family-centered care, regardless of a family's ability to pay. As a major referral center for children with complex and chronic conditions, N.C. Children's Hospital works hand-in-hand with community hospitals and pediatricians across the state, providing specialty care to more than 70,000 children from all 100 counties each year. N.C. Children's Hospital offers complete pediatric inpatient and outpatient care in its 140-bed state-of-the-art facility at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill and at more than 25 satellite outpatient clinics throughout North Carolina. The Children's Hospital's world-class physicians, nurses and other clinical staff represent all pediatric subspecialties and are capable of treating children with virtually any disease or disorder. For more information, please visit www.ncchildrenshospital.org. Contact Information: The UNC Dance Marathon www.uncmarathon.org www.facebook.com/uncmarathon www.twitter.com/UNCDM P.O. Box 628, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Phone: 919.843.2617 Fax: 919.843.2617 Written by Elizabeth Hutchins

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