By Lindsay LaChapelle | Campus News Editor
This weekend 50 Salve students spent their Friday night dancing in Ochre Court to raise $7,000 for Hasbro Children’s Hospital. For the second year, Salve hosted a dance marathon in partnership with the Children’s Miracle Network in which students pledged to stay on their feet for eighteen hours with the motto “we stand for those who can’t.”
By 6 p.m., Friday, March 28th, all participants had checked into Ochre Court and were ready to begin the marathon. After a blessing by Anna Mae Mayer, the director of the Mercy Center for spiritual life, several patients from Hasbro children’s hospital spoke to the participants, thanking them for their donations and involvement in the event. Some of the children even stayed for the early part of the night, dancing, singing karaoke and making crafts with the other participants.
“The patients that came this year lit up the room. They dove right into everything we were doing and really participated in our event” says Caroline Chenard, co-chair of the event. “It was beautiful to see them chatting with Salve students, doing karaoke with us and seeing the looks on their parents’ faces. It meant so much that they made the effort to come to our event and support what we were doing for the hospital.”
Those involved felt that this year’s participants surpassed last year’s in passion and dedication to the cause. “Last year the hours from 2:00 AM to 6:00 AM dragged on. It was a struggle,” said Corilyn Henault, co-chair of the event, “But this year, I feel like those hours flew by. You guys [participants] had so much passion and energy. It made all the difference.”
Despite the exhaustion that many participants felt in the last few hours, Ochre Court was filled with liveliness. Throughout the night, students learned a dance that they would perform for the families in the last hour of the event.
After the half-way mark, many students could be found sleeping in “dancer jail,” a corner of Ochre Court where students could sit or lay down after paying a fee of five dollars for every fifteen minutes. “I’m not going to sugar coat it,” says Emily Barkan, a participant in the event and the committee chair for Publicity and Promotions, “Afterwards I felt 40 kinds of pain and when I stood up I just fall back over. But if someone were to come up and ask me to stand 18 more hours for the kids at Hasbro tonight I would.”
“The kids I met are stronger than I will ever be and it’s their determination and positivity that inspires me and really put life into perspective. At the end of the day even after all that they have been through, they still smile brighter than ever and believe and cherish the little things, the least I can do is just stand up,” says Barkan.
This year’s fundraising will build on the project created using last year’s fundraising from the event. The money raised will go towards renovating “The Izzy Family Room.” This is a room where families who have patients at the hospital can go to relax and take some time for themselves. “We are so proud to honor Izzy and all the families who visited us by donating our money to making the hospital a more comfortable place for them,” says Chenard.
It’s not too late to donate. Fundraising for the Children’s Miracle Network is open until April 4th. If you are interested in donating, visit: http://www.helpmakemiracles.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=1633
