The Pepsi Refresh Project at UF announced Dance Marathon at UF as the $15,000 grant winner Saturday night at the Gators men’s basketball game against University of Mississippi.
DM at UF, benefitting Children’s Miracle Network at Shands Children’s Hospital at UF, entered the competition last year to revamp the pediatric waiting area.
DM is an event held April 2 and 3 in which participants raise money by standing for 26.2 straight hours.
The Shands nurses approached Tracy Flack, one of the advisers who looked into the project, about using the money for the waiting area.
“Twenty-one percent of all surgeries are pediatric,” Flack said. “That’s a big chunk. We want to set up games, movies and art projects for [the children] to not have to focus on the surgery.”
Because Shands will contribute money for the general needs of the waiting room, the $15,000 will be used to buy entertainment for the children and the families of the patients.
