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Join, Raise, and Share on Child Health Day!

COVID-19 has placed an unprecedented stress on the United States’ health system. On Monday, October 5th, you can join the entire Miracle Network Dance Marathon community in celebrating Child Health Day and coming together to Join the movement, Raise funds for children’s hospitals, and Share the message that Kids Can’t Wait.

*This blog will be updated each week from now until Child Health Day, so share it with your team, bookmark it, and check back for more resources to support your program. 

Update 9/29: New Join, Raise, Share, and “I Joined, I Raised, I Shared” and infographic/magazine style  “What will you do because #KidsCantWait?” quiz graphics available here and to screenshot on the Dance Marathon Instagram.

Update 9/16: We are thrilled to announce the Child Health Day Challenges and Participant Fundraising Incentive.

Once you finalize your Child Health Day Plans, please fill out this form so we can track how you are engaging your community and support your efforts!

Update 9/3: You can access the Dropbox of resources here and view the webinar recording on YouTube here.

Kids Can’t Wait for a return to normal, they need care now. With the reallocation of resources during the pandemic, kids are impacted by the suspension of elective surgeries and routine procedures that keep kids healthy. There are less obvious effects, too: the mental health toll on children and limited availability of mental health services to help cope with the stress of the pandemic, new protocols around visitation that add anxiety for children and families, and the compromised immune systems of sick kids putting them more at risk during this crisis.

Recent studies shed light on how COVID-19 directly affects kids. The number of children contracting the virus is steadily increasing and the children who do contract the virus are at-risk for requiring intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization, especially Hispanic and Black children. Children’s hospitals need our support now more than ever.

This is where you come in. On Child Health Day, you can join with thousands of Dance Marathon participants, alumni, and community members to rally together for local kids. By participating in this movement, you are helping CMN Hospitals address the most challenging health issues of today while preparing for those to come. With your help, we can raise critical funds needed to save more kids’ lives and protective our collective future.

*If you were unable to attend our webinar on September 4th, you can view the recording here and you can access the Dropbox of resources here. 

There are three main ways you can activate on Child Health Day.

  1. JOIN the movement.
  2. RAISE critical donations for children’s hospitals.
  3. SHARE the message that Kids Can’t Wait, they need care now.

JOIN the Movement:

Don’t know how to ask friends to join Dance Marathon? Child Health Day is the perfect activation to encourage people to join the movement because Kids’Can’t Wait for a return to normal. Here are some ideas and resources to inspire others to join you in helping local kids.

  • Send a note to a participant from last year who has not registered yet this year to encourage them to register.
  • Send a note to Dance Marathon alumni to encourage them to register as a fundraiser.
  • Pick a few friends to sit down with (or connect over Zoom) to walk through the registration process.
  • Send a few text messages to friends and classmates to register for your Dance Marathon team. If you don’t have a team yet, create one!

More resources available in Dropbox

RAISE Critical Donations:

Everyone is impacted differently by the pandemic and many people are looking for a way to get involved and help people directly impacted. Share why children’s hospitals need support right now and why every dollar is critical for kids. You can fundraise directly through Donor Drive, or create a Facebook fundraiser to link to Donor Drive.

Set a Fundraising Goal:

Setting a goal is a great way to inspire others to donate and you can choose a goal that is related the cause.

  • Raise $62 for the 62 kids who enter a CMN Hospital every minute.
  • Get 10 donations in honor of the 10 million kids who receive treatments at local CMN Hospitals every year.
  • Other numbers you could use to inspire your fundraising goal:
    • Every hour, CMN Hospitals treat
      • 675 kids with trauma
      • 39 kids for diabetes
      • 92 kids for cancer
      • 39 babies in the NICU
      • 97 kids for surgeries

More resources available in Dropbox

SHARE that Kids Can’t Wait

Being mindful that some people may not be in a position to support right now, you can still spread the word and invite others to donate when they are comfortable. On Child Health Day, we invite you to post on your social channels to raise awareness that children’s hospitals need our help now more than ever.

Be sure to use the hashtags #ChildHealthDay and #KidsCantWait to join the Dance Marathon conversation. Below are some ideas for how you can help share the message.

More resources available in Dropbox