By the time the last tune played, weary students had raised $3 million—the largest amount yet —for the Children’s Miracle Network.

by David Finnerty

Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” and TLC’s “Waterfalls” were the smash hits of 1995, the Macarena the hottest dance craze. That year at the University of Florida, a small group of students launched a plan to help sick children: a behemoth sock hop with a purpose — an idea that would, in time, grow to become an annual tradition at colleges across the country and at two dozen Florida high schools.

UF’s Dance Marathon took in $12,424.66 that initial year. Five years ago, in 2013, it topped $1 million for the first time. And this spring, Dance Marathon raised more than ever, $3 million for the university’s children’s hospital. Most of it on the feet of the 825 Gators who danced for 26.2 uninterrupted hours inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on March 24 and 25.

For this year’s marathon, $100 donations were met with a bellowing gong. There was a 90-minute silent disco (with 800 headsets), a scavenger hunt, a 1:30 a.m. rave, an on-every-hour line dance and six theme hours with games, entertainment and costumes. A magician, hypnotist and stilt walker also took part.

In its 24 years, Dance Marathon at UF, one of five founders of the now national program that supports the Children’s Miracle Network, has become the Southeast’s most successful student-run philanthropic event. Since 1995, it’s collected more than $18 million to improve children’s health.

Those contributions have added up. Forty-eight percent of Dance Marathon funding is earmarked for research, 42 percent for patient care and 10 percent for education, student organizers say. With those dollars, UF’s neonatal intensive care unit has been renovated, the hospital’s infusion clinic is being upgraded and state-of-the-art equipment has been purchased.

For the more than 90 children in UF’s Miracle Families group, Dance Marathon’s donations can be the difference between life and death. Izabella is one of those children. Born three months premature, she developed a pulmonary hemorrhage in just her third week. A few months later, her lungs stopped working. Despite long odds, a lung transplant at the University of Florida saved Izabella. Many of the machines used for her care were provided with funds raised through Dance Marathon, her mother notes.

“She has been in and out of the hospital many times since, but continues to amaze doctors with her will to fight for life,” Izabella’s mother, Krystina, says. “Dance Marathon has given our [Miracle Families] kids the opportunity to be ‘normal’ kids outside of the hospital.”

The marathon itself is the culmination in a series of related fundraising activities — among them, golf, bowling and kickball tournaments, a 5K fun run and a gala the night of the dance. In all, almost 6,000 students took part in this year’s fundraising in some fashion. The marathon, though, is the crown. For it, UF students and the university’s Miracle Families came together to celebrate and raise money. For the students, that meant 26.2 hours without rest or caffeine. Dance Marathon veterans did, however, offer these and other tips:

• Bring extra shoes — “Switching from comfortable sneakers to slippers and back can be a lifesaver.”
• … And socks — “Alternate between fuzzy socks and your favorite pairs that match the different theme hours to keep it fun and exciting.”
• Icy Hot is a must — “You will be so grateful to feel the heat and burning sensation that relieves pain in your feet and legs.”
• Soak your feet in birdseed (or rice) — “Standing in a large bucket of birdseed or rice helps alleviate the pressure on your feet, and the rough texture feels amazing.”
• Pack toilet paper — “Bring an extra roll in case the locker rooms run out. Better safe than sorry.”