Across the nation, fundraisers are being held as part of the Miracle Network Dance Marathon. Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) will once again be participating by raising money for Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi by hosting a Dance Marathon. The third annual marathon will begin at 4 p.m. on March 30 in the Steinke Physical Education Center (SPEC).
Each year, students are invited to create teams or sign up as individuals to raise money for the marathon. Throughout the semester, participating individuals and teams have been holding fundraisers to give to families in need at Driscoll Children’s Hospital.
The local community is also invited to participate in the Dance Marathon by registering to help raise money for the cause.
“It’s open to the entire community. We don’t ever want anybody to think that it’s only for students or only for certain people on this campus. It’s entirely open to the entire community. You can either join as a team, create a team, or you can join as an individual. Or, if you don’t want to create a team or be as an individual, you can donate to somebody who has already got a team or an account already set up,” Ydanissa Gonzalez, the executive director of TAMUK’s Dance Marathon Executive Board, said.
March 30 will be the last day to donate. On this day participants who have raised money will gather in the SPEC to share a night of celebration.
On this night, there will be dancing, bounce houses and more fun activities. Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear from and meet patients of Driscoll Children’s Hospital and their families at the event.
“The families that come in are families that have been impacted by Driscoll that have been serviced by them that have assisted their family throughout whatever their children have gone through. So, we like to bring them in so they can tell the importance of having Driscoll here in our community,” the Greek Life Coordinator for the Office of Student Activities Jessica Montenegro said.
Last year, the TAMUK Dance Marathon raised $11,503.79. The Dance Marathon Executive Board has hopes to raise even more money this year. Anyone can register or donate through TAMUK’s Dance Marathon donation page. The money that is raised from the event goes to Driscoll Children’s Hospital. The hospital then allocates the money to families in need.
While Dance Marathon helps raise money to ease the financial burden of families with children who are in the hospital, it can also be an eye opener to students who can sometimes take their everyday life for granted.
“This gives them (students) a bigger idea of everything that goes on that maybe we don’t pay attention to. Especially with student life. You get so involved in school that sometimes we lose track of things and I think this is a great way to just raise awareness,” the TAMUK Dance Marathon Dance Relations Executive Sarah Alvarez said.
For anyone interested in creating a team, joining as an individual or donating visit https://events.dancemarathon.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=3376. TAMUK’s Dance Marathon can also be followed on Facebook and Twitter @TAMUKDM.