DemonTHON at DePaul University Receives 2024 Community Engagement Award

Miracle Network Dance Marathon recognized top performing Dance Marathon programs at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals’ Ignite: Peer-to-Peer Leadership Conference held in Kansas City, MO from July 18-21.  

DemonTHON at DePaul University set out with an ambitious goal – to strengthen community bonds across their urban campus community and re-engage with a diverse array of partners. These efforts have earned them recognition as the winners of the 2024 Community Engagement award!  

Through mass outreach to over 90 student organization and 60 local business via calls, emails and personal visits – DemonTHON was able to forge partnerships with over 32 different groups, comprised of departments at DePaul, student organizations and community businesses. These partnerships lended themselves to a variety of collaborative events that exposed DemonTHON and their mission to new audiences throughout the community.  

One of their notable partnerships included a collaborative event between DePaul’s Athletic Department, the Men’s Basketball team and DemonTHON to host a special event for one of their champion families during a game. Integrating a fundraising ask into this game they were able to directly invite this community to join in their efforts.  

Another collaborative partnership is on display through a panel they hosted in collaboration with the School of Sciences and Health and Lurie Children’s Hospital. This event brough professionals from Lurie Children’s to share their experiences and stories of impact with students interested in a career in Science and Health.   

Many of the other events included collaborations between student organizations, such as a fitness classes with Nu Pho Psi, FSL Olympics alongside their Greek institutions, and a comedy variety show in partnership with the Theatre School and a group called the Picklejar Collective.  

Their collaborative relationships helped DemonTHON achieve an over 30% year-over-year increase in funds raised, registrations and participant retention. Congratulations, DemonTHON!  

Miracle Network Dance Marathon is a national movement, involving over 400 colleges, universities and K-12 schools across the United States that fundraise for their local member hospital of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Students involved in a campus’s dance marathon organization spend a year gaining leadership, teamwork, and nonprofit business experience while raising funds and awareness for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. The year culminates with a final dance marathon event on each campus, where students get to meet patient families treated at their local hospital, participate in games and dancing, enjoy entertainment, and reveal their annual fundraising total. Miracle Network Dance Marathon programs have collectively raised more than $350 million since 1991.