By Rachel Royster | News Editor
Dance Marathon is jiving its way back to Baylor’s campus, two steps at a time.
Miracle Network Dance Marathon is a nationwide student-led philanthropic movement dedicated to benefiting kids’ health through Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Dance Marathon is made up of a network of groups across college and high school campuses in the U.S.
“We are passionate about making a difference for kids and families in our local communities. Kids can’t wait, so neither should you,” the organization’s informational flyer reads.
Each year, Dance Marathon at Baylor holds a six-hour event complete with dancing, fundraising and guest speakers from ‘miracle families,’ which are the families Dance Marathon has directly helped.
Sugar Land senior and internal director Josni Daniel said it is for a great cause, which makes it all the more exciting.
“It’s a couple of hours where you come in and miracle families will come and join,” Daniel said. “It’s kind of like a lock-in for a couple of hours, and you can hear speeches from some of the miracle families. There’s going to be food and music. This is a great time to basically have a fundraiser for McLane Children’s Hospital.”
Faculty adviser Dr. Mieke Lahousse said something really special about Dance Marathon is that 100% of the proceeds go straight to McLane Children’s Hospital — a direct tie to the local community.
“These kids have complicated cases that Hillcrest or Providence cannot take care of,” Lahousse said. “All the funds that are raised go to help McLane Children’s grow the facility so they can treat more kids coming in.”
With its next fundraising event set for spring 2023, the group is looking to rebuild from where it was before the global speed bump in 2020.
Daniel said they can’t start planning, though, until their leadership team is fully staffed. She said people on the leadership team would help in the planning process of the next Dance Marathon. If people are interested in joining, they can fill out the interest form, DM the instagram page or contact Daniel directly at josni_daniel1@baylor.edu.
“We’re looking for student leaders who are ready to change kids’ health, to change the future and help raise funds and awareness for McLane Children’s, the local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital treating children’s families from the Waco-Temple-Bryan area and beyond,” the Dance Marathon website reads.
