Georgia College Miracle Recognized as Most Improved Dance Marathon
Georgia College Miracle at Georgia College and State University was recently recognized with the Most Improved Dance Marathon Award at the Miracle Network Dance Marathon Leadership Conference in July.
During the 2016-2017 academic year, GC Miracle focused on changing the perception on their campus that they were just a one-day event, turning Dance Marathon into a 365-day movement that engaged their entire campus in raising funds and awareness for Children’s Hospital, Navicent Health, their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in Macon, GA.
At the start of the year, the student leaders set goals to raise $175,000 and register 850 student participants, after raising $125,000 and having 717 participants in 2016.
“We realized quickly though that people don’t join organizations, people join people” GC Miracle’s current Executive Director, Ansley Jones wrote in their award application. “We could table or go canning all we wanted, but people weren’t going to sign up because they saw us on campus, people were going to sign up for how we made them feel. We realized that to make this into a movement we needed to build individual relationships with the people of Georgia College.”
The GC Miracle leadership set out to make genuine, personal connections with their peers and faculty and staff on campus, talking to them about why they participant in Dance Marathon and how involvement in the cause has personally impacted them.
After a year’s worth of work, GC Miracle had over 991 registered dancers and raised over $222,000, a 78% increase over 2016.
How did GC Miracle see such incredible growth in just one year? Check out some highlights from their 2016-2017 efforts:
$1 Day:
Before the school year started, GC Miracle wanted to kick off their fundraising efforts and motivate participants to fundraise during the summer. They hosted a $1 Day where students asked their friends and family to make a small $1 donation, which collectively ended up raising over $1,500 in one day.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIkTLIjA2-o/?taken-by=gcmiracle
Recognizing Faculty “Miracle Makers”:
Throughout the year, GC Miracle recognized faculty and staff who had registered to fundraise as Miracle Makers on their social media channels. This was a great way to develop relationships and encourage faculty/staff involvement while also stewarding those who had registered to participate. By the end of the year, the faculty/staff Miracle Makers had raised over $4,700!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJQbPDigWAS/?taken-by=gcmiracle
FTKolor Run:
GC Miracle partnered with the Phi Mu and Alpha Tau Omega chapters on their campus to host an FTKolor Run, which served as a fundraiser for their hospital as well as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKLkB3JAKxm/?taken-by=gcmiracle
Go Gold for Abe Campaign:
Throughout the month of September, in recognition of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, GC Miracle promoted their “Go Gold for Abe” campaign in honor of one of their Miracle Kids, Abe, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012. They shared posts about Abe for 29 days and challenged dancers to raise $29 in honor of Abe’s battle after he did not show signs of remission on day 29 of his treatment, making him one of just 5% of children who are not in remission after 29 days of leukemia treatments.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ3F9SCg8Uv/?taken-by=gcmiracle
https://www.facebook.com/GCMiracle/photos/a.1279131982111635.1073741840.260869483937895/1267561789935321/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/GCMiracle/photos/a.1279131982111635.1073741840.260869483937895/1273899629301537/?type=3&theater
Cause Connection and Education:
In order to motivate and inspire their participants to get involved and fundraise, GC Miracle made it a priority to connect their campus to their cause and educate them about how their fundraising is making a difference at their local hospital. They created a video to announce their fundraising goal for the year as not just a dollar amount, but rather demonstrating the better future their donations will be able to create with a new hospital facility and the families that will be treated in it.
On their social media channels, they helped their campus understand the cause through posts that college students could understand and resonate with.
https://www.facebook.com/GCMiracle/videos/1291500907541409/
They also connected students to the cause by not only having Miracle Kids at their events, but also by bringing students to the families and going out of their way to support the Miracle Kids, including attending their Miracle Kid Avery Lee’s soccer game.
https://www.facebook.com/GCOFSL/photos/a.146341042171686.30970.135812833224507/746548755484242/?type=3&theater
$100 Day:
On their 24-hour fundraising push day last October, GC Miracle challenged all of their participants to raise $100 in one day with the goal to collectively raise $24,000. Their campaign focused on how their fundraising would be used to help build the new pediatric care facility that Children’s Hospital, Navicent Health is hoping to construct in the next few years. GC Miracle posted graphics throughout the day that displayed their fundraising process with bricks being added to “build a hospital.”
https://www.facebook.com/GCMiracle/photos/a.271334822891361.74099.260869483937895/1314033551954811/?type=3
They also provided suggestions to help participants reach their personal $100 fundraising goal.
https://www.facebook.com/GCMiracle/photos/a.271334822891361.74099.260869483937895/1312158045475695/?type=3&theater
GC Miracle hosted a “Table of Terror” on campus during the day where people could make donations to “terrorize” their friends by pie-ing them in the face, breaking an egg over their head, or making them eat strange condiments.
https://www.facebook.com/GCMiracle/videos/1315039731854193/
When they had reached their $24,000 goal by 8:00pm, the Executive Board capitalized on the energy from their participants and kept pushing, resulting in $30,000 raised by the end of the 24 hours and 185 of their participants who were registered at the time receiving donations on that day.
GC Miracle said that this was the day that they saw their goal to create a movement on campus come to life.
Exec Board Challenges:
Throughout the last few months before their event, GC Miracle paired up Executive Board members to participate in individual one-day fundraising challenges, with the exec board member who fundraised less than the other having to do a silly challenge, such as getting dressed up by a Miracle Kid, singing karaoke, and doing a “gallon challenge.”
https://www.facebook.com/GCMiracle/photos/a.271334822891361.74099.260869483937895/1405768302781335/?type=3&theater
Miracle’s Got Talent:
GC Miracle partnered with Phi Mu and Sigma Alpha Epsilon, two of CMN Hospital’s national Greek partners, to host their inaugural Miracle’s Got Talent. Students and Miracle Kids performed talents on stage with Miracle Kids also hosting the show, helping out backstage, and serving as the talent show judges. GC Miracle also gave each Miracle Kid their own “glam squad” that did their hair and make-up before the show while treating them to snacks and gifts. After the show, they hosted an autograph session for the Miracle Kids to sign autographs and feel like celebrities.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRrNsfNjspq/?taken-by=gcmiracle
https://www.facebook.com/GCMiracle/photos/a.1476402975717867.1073741842.260869483937895/1476416622383169/?type=3&theater
The Dance Marathon:
On April 1st, GC Miracle hosted their Dance Marathon event. During the event, they heard from Miracle families and hosted several fundraising initiatives, including a donation matching hour and a challenge to raise $1,600 in 20 minutes in honor of the 16 Miracle families they had at their event.
Their years-worth of hard work and passion paid off during their final total reveal, which got a pretty incredible (and emotional) reaction…
https://www.facebook.com/GCMiracle/videos/1493328860691945/
Georgia College Miracle accomplished some pretty incredible things last year and we can’t wait to see what they’ll do this school year. To learn more about GC Miracle, check out their website, Facebook, and Instagram accounts and you can support their 2017-2018 fundraising efforts for their local hospital here.
Miracle Network Dance Marathon is an international movement, involving over 300 colleges and universities across North America that fundraise for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Since its inception in 1991, Miracle Network Dance Marathon has raised more than $180 million–ensuring that no child or family fights pediatric illness or injury alone.
Learn more about Miracle Network Dance Marathon: