LoboTHON at the University of New Mexico Receives 2024 Special Event 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.  

Congratulations to LoboTHON for being selected as the winner of the 2024 Special Event Award!  LoboTHON at the University of New Mexico took advantage of the rise in popularity of Pickleball, partnering with a local organization ABQ Pickleball to host a new event that raised over $7,000 in its first year.  

ABQ Pickleball is a local non-profit organization that hosts pickleball tournaments throughout the year. Through this partnership, ABQ Pickleball provided the courts, equipment and volunteers to referee the tournament for no cost. Utilizing DonorDrive to create a ticketed event they charged $20/per person to participate in the tournament. Recognizing the opportunity to reach an audience beyond their student population, the student leaders ensured they were doing strategic event promotion and outreach to off campus audiences. These efforts resulted in LoboTHON registering 138 participants for the tournament generating over $4,800 in ticket sales.  

What made this new event especially award-worthy was their maximization and diversification of sponsorship outreach. Knowing that pickleball typically attracts an older audience than their student population, they did strategic outreach to partners who may be more interested in promotion to that older audience. This included a Medicare service as well as a Dermatology service. Through these unique sponsorship opportunities, they generated an extra $3,000 in revenue supporting the program.  

Congratulations to LoboTHON at the University of New Mexico on your award recognition! 

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.