In my five years at UF, I’ve met many people who have raised similar questions to yours regarding the sincerity and efficiency of Dance Marathon’s fundraising efforts. They’re good questions. I’m sure they’re coming from a place of genuine concern. In fact, I’ve asked the same questions myself.
Here were my answers.
When you may have asked, “Why is there an obscene amount of neon clothing and fanny packs?” I was in my senior year of high school, scrolling through Instagram when those bright colors and quirky outfits first caught my eye. As someone planning to pursue a career in health care, the captions about fundraising for UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital had me intrigued. Although I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with my time in college, I knew I wanted Dance Marathon to be a part of it.
You may have wondered, “With the big emphasis Greek life places on Dance Marathon, what room is there for non-Greek students?” I had just been released from sorority recruitment at the start of my second Fall semester. Despite being dropped from every Panhellenic house on campus, I was determined to keep my head up. I looked into starting my own team, with a campus group that didn’t require formal membership for students to be able to participate in its activities. In Fall 2015, the Jewish Student Union Dance Marathon team was introduced to the over 9,400 Jewish students on our campus.
When you questioned, “Where does the money go?” I did my research. Along the way, I also found that Children’s Miracle Network was one of the most reputable charities around. I trusted that my donations would be put to good use. On that note, I understand your reluctance to donate through Venmo. Although Dance Marathon has official pages for each registered fundraiser, they can take some time to navigate through, especially on mobile. Venmo is more efficient – but, it’s also less secure.
When you may have worried about students using Dance Marathon to take over campus leadership, pad their resumes or show off their wealth, guess what? Their money benefits these families all the same, regardless of their underlying intentions.
When you were filled with concern about the students “patting themselves on their backs” for their good deeds, I spent my summer reaching out to the incoming freshmen through Facebook to further grow my team. It was hard work, but as a small team, we needed all the support we could get. I even found our next delegate! Over the course of the year, we planned a bagel brunch and a day at the park for Jewish students from all over campus to meet our Miracle Child, a bubbly fifth grader who received monthly treatments for complications she faced from her premature birth. We even visited her in the pediatric infusion room at Shands, which Dance Marathon has helped fund.
Finally, when you were asking, “What does patient care mean?” I was setting my alarms for the crack of dawn for my clinical rotations as a nursing student. I used a handheld vein illuminator to help start an IV. I placed a premature infant – whose birth I had just witnessed two hours prior – in a Giraffe Warmer bed. I walked in on a mother curled up on a sleeper sofa with her daughter, who was being screened for an upcoming lung transplant.
Most of all, I cradled an infant in my arms as he was hooked up to monitors and a feeding tube, singing him to sleep after yet another long night. I gazed into his big blue eyes, holding back tears – how could someone this young, so small and helpless, have to suffer this much? I prayed for his future and for the future of all the other children on the unit – uncertain, yet hopeful. And at that moment, I couldn’t help but think about the thousands of students on our own campus who were not only just as concerned for these kids as I was, but also actively fighting for the resources they need for a chance at a better tomorrow.
No matter the final fundraising total held up on the signs at the end of each year’s annual 26.2-hour stand, this cause is truly priceless.
Valerie Berman is a UF Bachelor of Science in Health Education graduate. She is a nursing student in the Accelerated BSN program.
