Posted on February 25, 2021; Updated: February 25, 2021
By Allen Wallace, [email protected], 8037775667
The greatest student philanthropy at the University of South Carolina, the Dance Marathon, will host its Main Event this Saturday, February 27, as it has done every year since 1999. Like so many things in 2020-21, however, this event year will be a little different.
The event, which concludes a year-long fundraising effort to support the Children’s Life program at the Children’s Hospital Prisma Health, traditionally took place at the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center, with students packed in a gym for a day off. dance. The Dance Marathon has attracted more than 2,000 participating students in each of the past three years, raising more than $ 1 million for children each time.
This approach cannot work in 2021 with pandemic security restrictions, but the cause remains, and the need for funds is more urgent than ever. So student leaders took action last summer, spending nine months working to find a way.
“We realize that COVID is not going to disappear in time, but kids are going to need us now more than ever,” said Caroline Selinger, an early childhood education student who is serving as vice president of productions for Dance Marathon this year. “We started to study how we could offer a safe but fun event.”
The Dance Marathon team consulted with University President Bob Caslen and his pandemic leadership team, then Russell House and the campus recreation team as plans began to take shape, finding eager support at every step.
“They have been great to work with and are very willing to help us,” says Selinger.
Saturday’s 2021 Main Event will take place at Russell House and Blatt Field, with participants split between the two locations and coming and going in shifts. The change for everyone to dance all day is great, but necessary to ensure safety. Students who collected the most money this year before the Main Event had the first choice of shifts.
I have the option to leave, but those kids don’t, so I never would.
– Caroline Selinger, vice president of productions for Dance Marathon
Selinger and his team, all students, also spent time carefully planning where students will be, arranging social distance and masks, and finding partners to donate items such as hand sanitizer.
A huge amount of hours has been spent on planning, and each student involved is an unpaid volunteer. They continue because they know the importance of the cause. The Child Life department at Prisma Health works to make the hospital experience less frightening and unpleasant for children, so that it is easier for them and their families to go through moments that are incredibly difficult.
COVID-19 just made these times more difficult, with children struggling to understand why people wear masks and why they can’t receive visitors. Child Life specialists can be there to keep you company and to explain. Many similar departments laid off employees last year, but Prisma Health Children’s Hospital did not, despite not charging families for services. The difference for Columbia hospital was the funding provided by the Dance Marathon.
“With a reduction in surgeries and other procedures that hospitals depend on for revenue, we are tearfully watching our child life programs in our state and nation, having to cut their child life hours and programs due to lack of funding, The Director of Child Life at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital, Christy Fink, wrote to the Dance Marathon team. “In the middle of a pandemic, when hospitals were forced to limit or exclude parents at the bedside, child care services were reduced. Because of you, we did not have to face the unimaginable difficulties of reducing staff and services. ”
This letter kept many of the students even more motivated than ever, as well as personal connections to childhood illnesses.
“I have a very dear 3-year-old friend, Louise, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2019,” says Selinger, who hopes to become a child life specialist. “There were times when I wanted to stop because the job was very difficult, but Louise can’t stop. She has to keep fighting, as do all these kids. I have the option to leave, but these kids don’t, so I never would. ”
For children, alumni and everyone else who cannot be present on Saturday, the Main Event will be broadcast live online, starting at 10 am and ending with the revelation of this year’s total fundraiser at 10 pm
As always, all the money raised by the University of South Carolina Dance Marathon remains local, providing support for children. Selinger says support has never been more important.
“Every dollar counts. In a year when that’s all people can give, it makes a big difference.”
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Topics: Students, Philanthropy, Service