Northwestern University Dance Marathon

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Currently in its 32nd year, The Northwestern University Dance Marathon is one of the world's largest student-run philanthropies. As one of the cornerstone traditions of the campus, Dance Marathon, or DM, brings together over 1,000 students, faculty, staff, and administrators in a thirty hour dance-a-thon. Students, serving as either dancers or committee members, fundraise all year to support its beneficiaries, culminating in an all-campus celebration weekend in the beginning of March. In addition to DM weekend, approximately 300 committee members organize special events throughout the entire year, such as basketball tournaments, date auctions, and trivia nights. DM now includes over 500 dancers, each couple raising at least $750 for the honor of dancing, and thousands of student volunteers.

Each year Dance Marathon selects a primary and secondary beneficiary to receive the money collected after months of fundraising and 30 hours of dancing. During Dance Marathon, over 15,000 spectators visit the Norris University Student Center at Northwestern University, where Dance Marathon takes place, to support the dancers and to take part in events such as a kid's carnival and a 5k run. These events are planned to involve community members from Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois and the Chicagoland community in Dance Marathon. This community involvement fulfills DM's mission of uniting the Northwestern University campus and the Chicagoland community thorough education and philanthropic fund raising.

1 Primary Beneficiary for 2007
2 Secondary Beneficiary for 2007
3 History
4 DM Weekend
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Primary Beneficiary for 2007

Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) was started in the fall of 1998 by three Chicago mothers who could no longer sit back and tolerate the fact that their children’s lives may be forever altered by the potential destruction of uncontrolled seizures. Although epilepsy is one of the most common disorders of the brain, epilepsy research has been historically under-funded and nobody had thought about finding a cure. CURE is solely dedicated to funding research for a cure and raising awareness of the seriousness of the disorder. CURE advocates for more federal funding for epilepsy research, awards grants to promising researchers and sponsors scientific conferences that bring experts together to discuss research trends. Please help us in our mission to raise awareness of the prevalence and devastation of repeated seizures, and more importantly to search for a cure.

[edit] Secondary Beneficiary for 2007

The Evanston Community Foundation is dedicated to enriching Evanston and the lives of its people, now and in the future. They build community endowments, address Evanston's changing needs through innovative grant-making, and provide leadership in bringing people together around issues of community concern.

For the past six years, Dance Marathon has contributed between $25,000 and $30,000 annually, making Northwestern students among the Evanston Community Foundation's five largest donors. Their continuing contributions have supported ECF in its quest to build local resources for the Evanston community. The funds have been committed to the full range of the Foundation's grantmaking activities.

Leaders of DM's executive board also participate on the foundation's Grants Committee, sharing the insights from their personal volunteering experiences in Evanston, their proposal evaluation experiences, and the perspectives of their generation.

In June 2003, Dance Marathon organizers reaffirmed their partnership with the Evanston Community Foundation. They delivered a $301,000 endowment gift to cover tuition assistance for inner city Chicago youth in the college preparatory programs of Midtown Educational Foundation.

[edit] History

More than thirty years ago, Dance Marathon, the philanthropic child of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and the Associated Student Government, was born on the Northwestern University campus.

Twenty-one couples danced for DM in 1975. It was called the "Dance to Give Them a Chance" marathon then, and it benefited the American Epilepsy Foundation and the National Association for Retarded Citizens. Fifteen couples made it through the fifty-two hour marathon, raising $9,105 at Blomquist Memorial Gymnasium. The winning couple, Donna Miller and Tony Krileff, was sponsored by Bobb Hall and a local liquor store.

DM 1976 saw a new venue as the dancing was moved to Patten Gym and the dancing time was lessened to twenty-six hours. The next year, though, was when DM found its current home: Norris University Center, where students have been dancing for thirty hours at a time ever since. Little amenities to raise extra money for the cause were added over the years, like the DM spa, where manicures and haircuts are given on the first floor of Norris. Other events take place to keep the rest of the campus involved while the dancers are busy, such as a DDR tournament and performances by on-campus groups. Chicago's Second City comedy troupe paid a visit in 1984. Since that time, popular bands and performers have been a highlight of DM weekend. DM has attracted the attention of people like George and Barbara Bush, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Jeff Probst, Scott Wolf, NU alumnus David Schwimmer, and former NU chemical engineering student Cindy Crawford. Chicago celebrities, like former mayor Jane Byrne and Chicago Bears players Mike Tomczak, Keith Van Horne and Trace Armstrong, have also danced.

Since its inaugural year, DM has raised over $5 million for various charities. In 2007 it raised over $700,000.

[edit] DM Weekend

The culmination of thousands of hours of fundraising and planning occurs in the first weekend of March, known on campus as DM weekend. Over 600 dancers crowd the Louis Room of the Norris University Center on Friday Night and begin their 30 hour non-stop journey. University faculty and staff, national celebrities, representatives from the beneficiaries, and friends and family routinely visit to provide care packages and keep the dancers motivated. In addition, campus a capella groups, dance troupes, and student bands come to perform in various intervals to lend their support to the participants. Before the sunrise on Saturday morning, dancers are treated to a quick shower and foot massage to help reenergize them to finish the day.

Beyond the Louis Room, the Dance Marathon Project Planning Committee plans events for the entire Northwestern and Chicagoland community to enjoy during the weekend. Past events have included coffee houses, comedy shows, kid's carnivals, kaleidoscope shows of campus talent, art shows, beer and wine gardens, Pilates classes, and battle of the bands competitions. Professional stylists donate their time to open up a DM Spa for the weekend, treating guests to haircuts, manicures, etc. to help support Dance Marathon's beneficiaries.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Northwestern University

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