THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND DANCE MARATHON RECEIVES THE 2022 ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT AWARD

Miracle Network Dance Marathon recognized top performing Dance Marathon programs at the Dance Marathon Leadership Conference held in Atlanta, GA July 21-24, 2022.

Congratulations to the Dance Marathon at University of Maryland, Terp Thon for receiving the 2022 Alumni Engagement Award. Keeping in touch and finding ways to involve alumni while also demonstrating to participants that involvement should not end at graduation are key for any program’s long-term growth. Terp Thon made a commitment this past year to pilot new strategies for alumni engagement. To facilitate this, they established a Dance Marathon Relations Chair position to coordinate alumni engagement and act as a liaison to their program. This position coordinated weekly meetings with the Alumni Network to plan events and initiatives for the year. This line of communication was extremely beneficial and helped ensure that alumni were kept in the loop. Furthermore, this partnership led to multiple successful events such as Career Night and Game Night to provide opportunities to the entire community. In addition, they engaged the alumni network by having an undergraduate presence at many of their meetings and conversations.

Miracle Network Dance Marathon is an international movement, involving over 400 colleges, universities and K-12 schools across the United States and Canada that fundraise for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. These students work tirelessly throughout the year to raise funds one dollar at a time by making the ask to family and friends. Their hard work culminates in a 6–40-hour celebration on their campus or virtually, where participants have the opportunity to rally together as a community for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Students involved in Dance Marathon gain valuable skills in fundraising, peer management, delegation, and philanthropy. Miracle Network Dance Marathon programs have collectively raised more than $300 million since 1991.