DM…For the Kids!
Founded on the University's 25th anniversary, Dance Marathon (DM) is entering its 13th year of raising funds for Miami Children's Hospital Foundation. Since its establishment in 1997, FIU DM has raised over $700,000 with 100% of the proceeds directly benefiting the children at Miami Children’s Hospital. “DM” is a 25-hour marathon filled with memories, inspiration, and miracles!
Over the course of the marathon, participants will stay on their feet pledging their dedication to saving the lives of children. Participants will meet and mingle with hundreds of other helping to make a difference! More than just dancing takes place at DM. Participants have enjoyed, karaoke, basketball, rock climbing, fun Morale hours and line dances. Comedians, t
he Miami Heat Dancers,
Miami Heat Junior Jam,
DJ Cato K, the Florida Marlins Mermaids and
Radio Disney have also provided entertainment. Past visitors have included Florida State Representatives, “Miracle Children,” inspirational survivors from Miami Children's Hospital, visit DM each year to motivate and thank dancers for their contribution to the hospital.
FIU Dance Marathon
The first Dance Marathon was held in 1973 at Penn State University as an attempt rebuild the image of that school's Interfraternity Council and support local charities. A modest 39 couples entered the first contest, lured in part by a $300 prize for the winner. In the end, 17 couples remained and over $2,000 had been raised for the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children. Now, flash forward 35 years to today. DM has grown from its humble beginnings at Penn State to include over 75 institutions across North America including the University of Florida, Emory University, Florida State, George Washington University, and the University of North Carolina. Overall, over $2 billion has been raised by DMs around the country, benefiting an estimated 12 million children annually. Nationally, planning and implementation of local DMs is provided by the Children's Miracle Network (CMN). The funds raised at each site benefit the local community as the money goes to the local CMN hospital foundation. FIU's local CMN hospital is Miami Children's Hospital.
Miami Children's Hospital Foundation raises funds and awareness for Miami Children's Hospital, its programs and projects. Working together, the foundation and the hospital are committed to ensuring that no child will ever have to leave this region to receive state of the art pediatric care.
For more information about the MCH Foundation please call 305-666-2889 or visit,
www.mchf.org.
Children's Miracle Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for 170 children's hospitals nationwide. Each year, these hospitals treat 14 million children suffering from disease and injury. Locally, 100% of contributions go to Miami Children's Hospital Foundation to help kids in the South Florida community.
Further CMN information is available at www.cmn.org.
