Dance Marathon to benefit children

Georgia College & State University will host the first Dance Marathon Feb. 19 in the Magnolia Ballroom in the newly renovated Student Activities Center.

The marathon will last from 12 p.m. until 12 a.m. This year’s theme is “Dancin’ through the Decades.” With the passing of each hour, a new decade will be celebrated.

“We’re hoping to make this the biggest event for the ballroom and a campus tradition for years to come,” said Amy Hall, student coordinator. “The marathon has been in the planning process for over a year which means the expectations are great.”

The event will benefit the Children’s Hospital in Macon, which serves 45,000 children from 50 counties each year. The marathon originated approximately two years ago when Jamie Edwards of the Medical Center of Central Georgia’s Community Health Foundation spoke to the GC&SU’s Student Activities Assistant Director Ron Lunk

According to Hall, the marathon will go on for 12 hours straight and will include dancing, games, food and fun with peers.

“We will have Casino tables out and pay homage to some of the great Jazz musicians of that time,” said Hall.

There will also be other activities aside from dancing at the marathon. Games like “Saved by the Bell” Trivia, Saturday Night Live skits, and a life-size game of Monopoly promise to be a big hit. However, the biggest activity at the event should be the Morale Dance.

“The dancers will get to learn the dance piece by piece as the marathon goes on,” said Hall.

Kendall Stiles, director of the GIVE Center at GC&SU, has high expectations.

“We’re expecting about 40-60 people to sign up for the marathon,” said Stiles. “My hope is that they all come out and have a good time, and that they’ll want to come back next year.”

Many changes have recently been made to the application process in order to encourage more people to sign up for the marathon. The primary alteration is that there is no longer an entry deadline. Another modification includes a reduction to the entry fee the participant is expected to raise. The fee, originally set at $100, has been cut to $50.

“We will even send out letters on behalf of participants, asking friends and family of the participants to donate, since most college kids are busy or don’t know how to ask,” said Hall.

Hall expects some children from the Children’s Hospital to attend the dance.

“The goal is to get people to empathize with the children who are in the hospital, some of whom will be present,” said Hall. “We’re not sure how many children will be able to attend but we hope at least [some] will be able to come.”

For more information, call the GIVE Center at (478) 445-5936.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 11 2005. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry