Recognizing the 2024 Dance Marathon Community Engagement Award Finalists!
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.
The Community Engagement Award recognizes the Dance Marathon organization that executed a successful initiative, event, or campaign to reach a new demographic in the campus or local community. This is not limited to recruiting new participants to register for your Dance Marathon event but can also include other opportunities for individuals, organizations, or community groups to engage with your organization and/or the cause. Read more about the finalists for the 2024 Community Engagement Award below!
DemonTHON at DePaul University is the 2024 winner of the Community Engagement Award. You can read more about how their collaborations between student organizations and campus departments helped them expand their participation and reach throughout their campus and community here: DemonTHON at DePaul University Receives 2024 Community Engagement Award.
State DM at Mississippi State University
State DM spearheaded a unique community engagement initiative called Coffee Fest during the winter holidays. Partnering with five local coffee shops in Starkville – the city in which their campus is located – they introduced specially designed mugs drawn by their Miracle Kids and funded by the city. Each mug purchase allowed patrons to enjoy a complimentary cup of holiday coffee at the participating coffee shops. Additionally, the coffee shops competed to showcase the best holiday cup of coffee in Starkville, creating excitement and buzz within the community.
The Coffee Fest initiative aimed to engage a diverse demographic, transitioning their initiative from primarily targeting college students to actively involving the broader Starkville community. The engagement effort directly contributed to their program’s overall fundraising goals for the year, as the event raised over $6,000 via mug sales, while also building positive relationships with local businesses and community members!
Clemson University, University of Missouri, The Ohio State University, University of Alabama
The next four programs all worked to establish participation or improve relationships with members of Greek Life of campus.
- Clemson University – Clemson Miracle focused its campus engagement efforts on Greek organizations to gain the support of the most influential organizations on campus. It is estimated that about 35% of undergraduate women are in sororities and 18% of undergraduate men are in fraternities, totaling almost a third of Clemson’s student body. With a goal to make Clemson Miracle and their cause more known to these organizations and incorporate them into their fundraising efforts, they established the first-ever Miracle Cup competition among Greek organizations. This year-long event included 2 parts (fall and spring). The Fall Challenge set the foundation for the Miracle Cup, encouraging registration efforts during their Rivalry Week vs. UofSC Dance Marathon in late November with the winning organization receiving a $100 donation to its philanthropy. The spring challenge focused on fundraising, ending with the largest event of the year, Dance Marathon, with winners receiving a $200 donation.
- University of Missouri – Greek Life at the University of Missouri makes up a large percentage of their campus population; by focusing on involving Greek life in MizzouThon, they were able to raise $10,000 more than the previous year! They achieved this fundraising growth by encouraging and supporting Greek Organization participation in their “adopt a family” initiative. Through collaborative events between the Dance Marathon organization and the adopt-a-fam organization, the Greek organization members were able to get more involved with the families, develop a deeper connection to the cause and truly understand how their funds are making an impact. By the end of the year all nine of the families who participate in Mizzouthon were adopted by a Greek organization meeting their goal to improve these relationships and participation!
- The Ohio State University – BuckeyeThon’s Greek life specific initiative, “Chapter Walks”, allowed them to greatly increase Greek life participation this year. On several Mondays throughout the fall semester, they brought one of their miracle families to chapter meetings at sorority and fraternity houses. While there, the families recruited Team Members, talked about BuckeyeThon’s cause and events, shared their story, and played a game or had a dance battle with members of the chapter. Additionally, to encourage fundraising beyond registration, each week, they passed a chemo duck to the highest fundraising Greek life team and placed sororities and fraternities on separate color teams to evoke competition between the groups. These efforts proved successful as BuckeyeThon registered 801 Team Members from Sorority and Fraternity Life this year compared to 344 the year before and saw a 159% increase in fundraising from these teams!
- University of Alabama – UA Miracle at the University of Alabama placed a special emphasis on improving their partnership with the Phi Mu Chapter on their campus this year. One of the most remarkable aspects of UA Miracle’s stewardship with Phi Mu is their ability to recognize and celebrate the unique contributions of each member. With a significant number of Phi Mu members actively involved in UA Miracle’s leadership, UA Miracle made it a priority to honor each Phi Mu’s dedication and fundraising achievements. They ensured that Phi Mu members received recognition for the funds raised through their respective teams, fostering a culture of appreciation and empowerment. Because of their fundraising success, Phi Mu members were honored as the top fundraising team, enjoying a special “Miracle Family Breakfast” on the morning of the main event! They were also honored with a trophy symbolizing their fundraising efforts. The Top Fundraising Team trophy will be engraved with Phi Mu’s name for all future top fundraising teams to see for years to come!
Congratulations to Mississippi State University, Clemson University, University of Missouri, The Ohio State University and University of Alabama for your recognition as finalists!
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.