School-Wide Participation in Dance Marathon

The students of the University of South Carolina Aiken give back to community by particing in the third campus-wide Dance Marathon. Dance Marathon was designed to give back to the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) by raising money for children and their familes. All the donations went toward the Medical College of Gerogia Children’s Medical Centers. “Dance Marathon was a great experience that made me realize how much children out there are really suffering from different diseases and illnesses who need our support. It brought great joy to seeing the kids out there and integrating with them knowing that we was doing something that brought happiness to others,” said Desmine Greene. The student dancers were challenged to stand from 9pm - 1pm for a total of 16 hours.

Dance Marathon was combined with music, food, games, children, and, of course, dancing. “As hard as dance marathon seems, it is the one time that the entire USCA student population can come together and interact with one another while doing community service and the fun is an extra incentive,” said Jamel Hodges. This year’s Dance Marathon took place on February 26^th and 27^th with the theme “It’ll be ok….Just Dance!” and the grand total donations so far are approximately $5,400. There was no set amount for each group to raise, however, the group that raised the most was Phi Mu. This sorority raised over 1,000 dollars. "Dance Marathon was a very rewarding event because it gave me the opportunity to give back to the kids and have fun at the same time,” said Marcus Billie.  This year’s Dance Marathon committee included, Lori Beth Long, Hilary Wallace, Chip Dowdy, Josh Campos, Bethany Heyward, Jessica Ramp, Krista Lange, Heather Whetsell, Roberto Aragon, Blake Leaphart, James Eastman, Katie Sikora,  Travis Broome, Metcia Winston, Joy Fann, Maria Pineda and advisor Angel Lee.