Last Friday, I arrived in Wilson Hall at four o’clock, an hour and a half before the event was set to start. The room was buzzing with energy. For the Kids members were rushing about painting banners, blowing up balloons, and scheduling times to set out Boloco burritos and Bruegger’s bagels. This hectic environment made me wonder: what motivates these students to spend months publicizing and planning for the dance marathon?
After ten straight hours of dancing, four bulk-sized cartons of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and special performances by Mischords, Riddim, Mt. Philo and Iron Eyes Cody, I had my answer. The 4th annual For the Kids Dance Marathon raised $11,111 for the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care, nearly doubling their donations from the previous year.
For the Kids president Erin Miller ’16 had a personal connection to the cause.
“In high school, my best friend’s little brother, Mikey, passed away after battling a terminal illness his whole life,”
Miller said.
Among For the Kids members, she is not alone.
“Almost any committee member you ask carries a similar story and memory with them as we plan events throughout the year. It is really much more than sending emails, making phone calls, and getting the bouncy castle set up
in time.”
Children from the hospital were special guests, or the “heroes” of the event. And for most of the night, they stole the show on the dance floor.
“They have no inhibitions. They’re just dancing their butts off. I wish I could dance like them,” Ell Crawford ’15 said.
In between the performances, attendees watched videos about the cause they were supporting. One video featured a tour of the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital in Burlington. Other videos told the stories of children whose lives were touched by the Children’s Miracle Network and the nation-wide Dance Marathon movement.
“The point is to stand for those who can’t. That’s our motto. It’s a ten-hour event and you stand on your feet in support. At the end of the day, the students, the community members, and the people here get to go home… but the kids at the hospital do not. So we stand for them and we dance for them,” Miller said.
For the Kids organizes various events throughout the year, including Atwater dinners and a Fall Carnival. Miller said that these events are meant to raise awareness for the dance marathon, the organization’s main fundraising event, among the Middlebury community and students.
Four years ago, students hosted the first dance marathon at Middlebury and raised around $2,000. Last year, the event raised around $6,000. This year, For the Kids became an official student organization; they are intent on doubling the amount raised
each year.
Kate Bauman ’16, the organization’s treasurer, elaborated on the growth of For the Kids.
“We started at ground zero. We had nothing – we weren’t a student organization, we had no money. We had no idea how to start, so we just made it up. We were able to turn it into whatever we wanted it to be,” Bauman said.
For the Kids fundraises through the $10 entry fee for the dance marathon, as well as a raffle held at the marathon featuring prizes from sponsors such as the Boston Red Sox, Skida, and Trader Joe’s. The organization also hosts letter-writing parties in order to encourage students to ask for donations from family and friends.
The donations are distributed to Children’s Miracle Network hospitals across the country, but Miller explained that the funds especially benefit the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital in Burlington.
Emily Wright, a fundraising coordinator for the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital, added: “The funds go to the newest, most needed piece of equipment for the year, or they go to comfort items in the units like teddy bears, blankets, art supplies. Just those things that make them feel a little bit more at home and more like a kid.”
By raising money for a great cause, the dance marathon brings together numerous groups, such as Middlebury College and the town of Middlebury, as well as various student organizations on campus.
“We do a lot of publicity in town and invite community members to all of our events. We also work with a lot of organizations here that work with kids, like Community Friends, DREAM, and Sister-to-Sister Brother-to-Brother,” Miller said.
Bauman added that the dance marathon is a way to show Middlebury’s support for the state of Vermont: “[Vermont Children’s Hospital] is the only children’s hospital in Vermont. I think we should all be supporting it as a community, especially because we’re all coming from out of state.”
Indeed, behind the free food and fun performances, the dance marathon is about dancing together, as students, Middlebury community members, and Vermont residents, for those who cannot.
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