UNF students host Dance Marathon benefiting CMN Hospitals

Former UNF Dance Marathoners

Grab your dancing shoes and get ready to participate in a 12 Hour and 9-minute Dance Marathon. University of North Florida (UNF) will be hosting its ninth annual event on Saturday, April 1, 2017 from 10 a.m. to 10:09 p.m. at the UNF Field House.  Proceeds benefit the two local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals - Wolfson Children’s Hospital and the pediatric programs at UF Health Jacksonville. 
 

To honor all children being treated at the local CMN Hospitals, students will stay on their feet for 12 hours and 9 minutes.  The 12 hours signify the typical shift of dedicated hospital staff while the 9 minutes tributes the event’s ninth year in the Jacksonville community.  To keep dancers motivated, miracle children impacted by the hospitals will make special visits throughout the day to share their unique journey and interact with all participants.  There will also be games, entertainment and, of course, dancing!

Opening ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. and are free and open to the public.  After 11 a.m., visitors are asked to donate $5 per hour at the door to CMN Hospitals.  The event concludes in a symbolic closing ceremony with miracle children cutting off the dancers’ ID bands beginning at 9:30 p.m.  You can register to participate or to donate HERE!

Dance Marathon is a nationwide movement involving college and high school students at more than 300 schools.  These students spend a year learning invaluable leadership and life skills while raising funds and interacting with children’s hospital patients and families.  More students participate in Dance Marathon than any other student-led philanthropy in the United States.  Since its founding in 1991, this movement has raised more than $80 million for CMN Hospitals.

About Unf Dance Marathon: Started at the University of North Florida in 2008, UNF Dance Marathon team and students have raised more than $160,000 for CMN Hospitals.  All of the funds raised by the students stays local at Wolfson Children’s Hospital and the pediatric programs at UF Health Jacksonville.  UNF Dance Marathon’s motto: “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” especially when it is “FTK-For The Kids!”

About Children’s Miracle Network-Jacksonville: Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is dedicated to improving the health and welfare of all children by raising funds and awareness for Wolfson Children’s Hospital and the pediatric programs at UF Health Jacksonville. A founding principle of CMN Hospitals is that all funds raised in a community stay in that community. Therefore, all donations made in Northeast Florida/Southeast Georgia are used to purchase medical equipment, child life activities and educational resources for both local pediatric programs.