Wright State’s Raiderthon dance marathon takes “dance ‘til you drop” literally. A student-run organization, Wright State Miracle Makers, hosted a 15-hour fundraiser on Saturday. All the proceeds raised during the marathon will be donated to Dayton Children’s Hospital.
The first fundraising dance marathon was hosted in 1991 at Indiana University. Ryan White, a student at IU, passed away in '91 from HIV/AIDS and IU students decided to host a dance marathon in his honor. Since then, the concept has spread across the country. Wright State started hosting their own marathons in 2013.
The event was able to raise money in various different ways. Each dancer had their own donation page where they could ask friends and family to donate money through them. Dancers could donate further by buying raffle baskets, paying to have pies thrown in their friends’ faces or to have them locked away for a while in jail.
Much of the money that Miracle Makers donates to Dayton Children's goes toward small things the hospital needs to treat its patients, according to Kelsi Regan, executive director of Wright State Miracle Makers. Things like pediatric diapers or infant vein finders. "We help purchase the equipment they need to be able to treat and care for anyone and everyone," Regan said.
Usually they will raise somewhere between $40,000 - $60,000, according to Regan. Raiderthon dancers, exhausted, finally took their seats Sunday morning to hear how much money was raised over the course of their 15-hour dance marathon. This year the event raised $34,202.
Raiderthon is the last event the Wright State Miracle Makers host every year. Throughout the year, they raise money for local Children's Miracle Network hospital, Dayton Children’s, by hosting events like restaurant takeovers and by reaching out for corporate sponsorships.
This year, many of the student directors of Wright State Miracle Makers are graduating. Kelsi Regan and Lexi Knick, the students in charge of scheduling the event, are both biology students and plan to graduate in December. "I'm really sad to be in my last year of Raiderthon but I know the event and the organization will continue to do great things in the future," Knick said.
Photos provided by Sarah Christy
