DMUM Yearbook

Dance Marathon at the University of Michigan

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the Dance Marathon Yearbook

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2010-2

Welcome Letter

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About Dance Marathon

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Teams

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Committees

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Central Planning Team/ Associate Teams

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Events

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Sponsors

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Special Messages

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Special Thank You’s

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My Marathon Moment

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Dear Dance Marathoners, Congratulations on a wildly successful year in Dance Marathon! As we conclude our 14th year, I can’t help but think about all we’ve accomplished together. We started out the year with one of our most popular events – Pumpkin Carving. From there we reunited with our DM families at PJ Party, and of course Charity Ball. The smiles on the kids’ faces at each event were evident of their excitement to see each and every one of you. 2011 also marked the beginning of a new annual DM event, the Night to Make a Difference Gala. With this event we were able to reach out to community members, parents, and hospital staff. Needless to say, it was a huge success!

Dance Marathon at the University of Michigan is truly a unique and rewarding organization. Just take a moment to look around you and see all the visitors, volunteers, sponsors, alumni, parents, and friends who came to support you and our cause. This support is not something you come across every day. It is because of your passion, dedication, and hard work that we continue to grow as an organization and can direct more funds toward our cause. Because of you we are able to fund more recreational therapy programs and adaptive equipment.

Dance Marathon would not be the organization it is today without numerous supporters and volunteers.

Dancers and Captains – you have worked tirelessly throughout this year to fundraise for an incredible cause.

You’ve also been able to form lasting relationships with your teammates and DM families. Thank you for all your efforts.

Thank you Committee Members and Coordinators. Your work on your respective committees has helped Dance Marathon grow. From the new education station to the gala, the Marathon performers and activities to our marketing campaigns, media outreach efforts to family events, you’ve pushed DM to a new level.

Sponsors, it is safe to say that Dance Marathon would not exist with our your support. Many of you have been with us for years, and we can’t tell you enough how much we value your engagement.

Alumni, thank you for sharing your wisdom, experience, and creativity. Your involvement every year is crucial to our success and growth. From across the country, or even the globe, you are always there to offer encouragement and advice. Thank you.

Dance Marathon families, thank you for joining us at all our events this year. Your presence means more than you know. You give us a reason to stand and we wouldn’t be here without you!

C. S. Mott and William Beaumont Hospitals, thank you for giving us the opportunity to work with your great organizations. You have helped us to reach out to our communities in a new and different way. We look forward to strengthening these partnerships for years to come.

I hope that you have enjoyed your Dance Marathon experience and that you have seized every opportunity. The Marathon is an exciting and energetic 30 hours, but be sure to take a moment to soak it all in and explore. This time will be over before you know it and you’ll want to remember these hours, because they’ll be some of the greatest in your life. Thank you all for standing with us!

DM Love and Go Blue!

Eric S. Elgin 2010 – 2011 Executive Director

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About Dance Marathon Welcome to Dance Marathon!

First and foremost, give yourself a pat on the back for making it this far! Welcome to the 14th Annual Dance Marathon, where there are certainly many good times to be had! This year’s Marathon theme is “Lights, Camera, Stand,” and for the next 30 hours you will be embarking on a journey with hundreds of members of DMUM and even more from the surrounding community.

What can you expect? Games, performances, MANY families, inspiring speakers, plenty of food, a surprise or two, and much, much more! All of your hard work throughout the year culminates at this event, so be sure to just have some fun! Throughout the year you have been raising money for and supporting pediatric rehabilitation programs at Mott Hospital in Ann Arbor and Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, and it is here that you will certainly see the effect you have had on all of the families that benefit from these programs.

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Our tagline for the year was “Carpe DM.” Seize the

Where Is My Money Going

• Journal about your favorite Marathon moment • Ask your DM family to leave message or have one of the kids draw you a picture So let the good times roll, and just let loose and have some fun! Hopefully when you pull this yearbook out some years down the road, it will help conjure up some great memories of a remarkable year.

Dance Marathon at the University of Michigan raises money for pediatric rehabilitation: a system of different therapy programs that improve the lives of children with mental, physical, and social limitations. The money you have raised throughout the year will be donated to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor and William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. Each hospital has a host of unique therapies that benefit Michigan children with special needs and are greatly reduced in price by Dance Marathon funds. Learn more about some of these therapy programs and the difference your donation is making below!

Mott Summer Enrichment Program This program provides a oneweek day camp experience with therapeutic qualities for children ages 4-8 with physical, social, and/ or cognitive challenges. Activities include arts and crafts, music therapy, sports and other gross motor play activities.

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moment. This is something that every dancer has done from the moment they had registered, whether it be making that last bucketing push to get past $300, spending some extra time with the families, volunteering at the hospitals, or just having a good time and bonding with their fellow dancers at a bar night. In this yearbook, you will find all of the events that DMUM has put on throughout the year, all of our teams and families, and our sponsors that have helped make this all possible! Some ideas for you yearbook:

With our support, this program costs $75.00 a child for the week.

Without our funds it would cost approximately $352.50 per child for the week.

Martial Arts Therapy

This year-round program (6 sessions) utilizes Martial Arts to promote increased balance, coordination, endurance and strength along with improved self-

esteem and social skills. Martial Arts Therapy (MAT) has been involved with the development of therapeutic martial arts programs since 1993. Programs have been successfully developed and tested by direct experience with individuals with a variety of diagnoses including CP, CHI/TBI, AD/ADHD, Downs Syndrome, Sensory Integration Dysfunctions, Autism, and full thickness burns.

With our support, this program costs $25.00 a child a session.

Without our funds it would cost approximately $83.00 per child a session.

Kids in Motion Kids in Motion is an adapted dance program for children with physical, cognitive, and emotional challenges; the program utilizes creative movement and dance to address these needs. Kids in Motion is run by a certified dance instructor/ physical therapist from the department of PM&R and currently takes place in the Physical Therapy gym at University Hospital.

With our support the program costs $25.00 per child for a six week period that includes 3 sessions.

Without our funds it would cost approximately $81.25 per child for a six week period that includes 3 sessions.

Tree Climbing This program provides participants an opportunity to climb into a canopy of a tree utilizing special climbing saddlers. Children with physical, cognitive and emotional challenges can participate with their families. A spring, summer, and fall climb will be organized on a weekend afternoon, and each participant and his/her family will have a 2-hour block of time to learn and participate in this activity.

With our support, this program costs $10.00 per climber, $20.00

per family for a 2-hour session of climbing. Without our support this program would cost approximately $40.00 per climber per 2-hour session.

Trails’ Edge Camp Trails’ Edge Camp is a camp that is for children ages 4-20 years old that require ventilator support.

The children are at the camp for 6 days with a large volunteer staff.

Trail’s Edge Camp rents Camp Fowler for one week in the summer.

The camp is entirely disability accessible. Activities at camp include: horseback riding, fishing, boat rides, wheelchair soccer, hockey, archery, and tree climbing. There are also lots of crafts and games.

This camp is literally these children’s only opportunity of ever going to camp because they have a doctor there 24/7 for the children’s medical needs.

There is no cost to the children that attend camp. All of the staffers/ doctors/therapists donate their time to be there and use their vacation days to run the camp. DM donated $10,000.00 last summer for the camp.

Ready to Roll University (R2RU) This is the first year of the Ready to Roll Program, and it is entirely funded by DM! The program is for children ages 4-6 to help them with learning gross motor skills.

The physical therapists at Mott have seen many children who have no medical diagnosis but are

delayed in their gross motor skills, such as kicking, throwing, jumping, and skipping. As a result, many of these children also have social deficits. Their lack of confidence in their abilities also affects their willingness to attempt new activities and children can begin to view “exercise” and “sports” as extremely intimidating at an early age. R2RU is designed for children ages 4-6 with only 6 kids per camp session, allowing individualized help with gross motor skills.

With our support, this program costs $50.00 per child for six 90-minute sessions. Without our funds, it would cost approximately $196.00 per child for six 90-minute sessions.

Girls Brachial Plexus Palsy Activity Group The purpose of this group is to bring girls with brachial plaxus palsy together so they can support and encourage one another, challenge one another to increase active movements of the affected extremity, build self-esteem and confidence, and see how other peers manage their challenges. Recently, 75% of the girls in the group had to drop the class because it wasn’t covered by insurance.

Dance Marathon is providing $3,048.00 this year in order to allow for the 75% of girl participants to continue to participate in the program, as well as to establish a boys activity group.

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Teams A m a Te

The Downing-Cook Family When you first meet Zana you can expect nothing but a beautiful smile to greet you! As a first year family we are happy to have Zana join us through her involvement with her team and in a wide variety of therapies. Programs such as bowling, Martial Arts Therapy, and Creative Coping. These groups all focus on creating an environment in which children can recreate and improve their own confidence working in groups. Zana has worked her way up through Martial Arts and can now usually be found at the front of the class as a member of the demonstration. Team A is so happy to be paired with the Downing Cooks!

Dancer Roster: Julie Brickl, Constance Bahr, Rachel Blik, Marcus Deloney, Leah Jennings, Melissa Learman, Sarah J. Lewis-Crow, Kelsey Libbe, Lindsay Loridon, Margaret Lugin,Kelly McLaughlin, Nicole Miler, Becca Myers, Shannon Pomerov, Erika Prie, Chelsea Prush, Matthew Shutler, Calyn Wolford

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The Brogran Family As Erin concludes her DM experience before leaving for college we all must thank the Brogan family for their continued involvement in our organization for more than a decade!

Erin is excited to speak at this year’s Marathon to reflect on her past involvement and talk about the impact of Dance Marathon on her and her brother, Patrick’s lives. Erin’s favorite things include learning about the Red Wings...while likely listening to her favorite’s the Jonas Brothers. Some of Erin’s favorite things to do include going bowling and visits to the zoo. We all wish Erin the best of luck in the future and can’t wait to hear back about

Dancer Roster: Kristen Bialik, Shelley Bultje, Abrielle Case, Nicole CHapman, Kathryn Deeds, David Fillinich, Amanda Gayer, Nozomi Gonzalez, Currin Hall, Alison Huang, Alexandria Mitchll, Sharon Ose, Gerry Lee Quinto, Stephaie Schucker, Katherine Wilson

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The Romig-Fox Family Brendan loves getting sometime to be around college students and particularly out on the soccer field. This is the place where Brendan is happiest and where he can enjoy the great outdoors. In addition to sports Brendan is very interested in the arts. He is a huge fan of listening to music while coloring or working on puzzles. His favorites include Motown, Celtic, and Big Band!

Dancer Roster: Rachel Beeler, Paige Bailey, Jaime bean, Kathleen Bott, Jaimie Broughman, Colleen Cunningham, Mira Friedlaner Sarah Garvey, Kristophe Gutowski, JessicaHarper, Kelsie Hoffmann, Danielle eClair, Emmy Mills, Sarah Rood, Janya Tagat, Cindy Wang, Yishi Wang, Kevin Wender

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The Brenzai Family Team E is so glad they are paired with the Breznai family this year! Jarret loved Pumpkin Carving and all of the other family events.

He also enjoyed all of the pen pal letters he received from his team!

Dancer Roster: Katie Bowerson, Shannon Burke, Rachel Cross, Cassie Diamond, Rachel Doig, Allison Goldstein, Surya Iyer, Amanda Popiela, Sarah Smolinski, Haley Stevens, Jamie Stump, Gabriela Sze, Tanu Verma

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The Delorey Family Team F is thrilled to be paired with the Delorey Family this year. Samuel’s favorite sports are bowling and basketball! He also loves going to Burger King and chowing down. He absolutely loves playing and watching sports too. Parents Denise and Frank have been amazing this year. We are so excited to see him at the marathon!

Dancer Roster: Erica Avesian, Rebecca CHen, Sarah Craig, Ton Ghita, Sarah Goslin, Nicole Grieble, Kelsey Lemmen, Kaille Meguiar, Hope Peskin-Shepherd, Abby Pianelli, Courtney Pierce Lacy Pyrzynski, Autin Rove, Omar Shkeir

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The Proen Family Our Family is the Proen family, who are amazing! Spending time with Sofia, Ben, and Katina has made this year an amazing experience for the entire team. They are all so happy and energetic. We’ve loved getting to play with them, and they’ve made a big difference in our lives.

Dancer Roster: Alyssa Bowling, Brigitte Butler, Mehie Hahn, Allison Haney, Jessica Jou, Delancey Litchman, Julia Martorana, Nichole Mattila, Annalisa Morgan, Maggier O’Reilly Treter, Shannon Seiferth, Lane Sharnsky, Laura Slgar, Allie Surman, Caitlin Thoms, iAli Van Belkum, Lauren Va Oss, Ellen Weinstein

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The Kent Family Team H is so excited to be paired with the Kent family. They have been in DM 9 years and they have three awesome kids, David, Sean, and Marie. Sean and David love playing sports, and Marie is in high school and loves it! The Kents also likes going to the lake and having barbecues. We are so excited to spend time with them at the Marathon!

Dancer Roster: Ashley Allen Benjamin Beutler, Jillia Clark, Taylor Detzle, Tarah DOuglas, Allan Golde, Megan Gustafsson, Kyra Hauck, Hillary Hausch, Gabrielle Layne, Mano Rehman, Maria Ruedisueli, Whitney Smith, Rachel Voigt

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The Mullen Family The Mullen family loves to play and laugh as anyone can see when you first meet Jimmy and Bridgette. Some of the family’s favorite pastimes includes trip to the movies and relaxing afternoons fishing. If you are trying to figure out a place to go for dinner with the Mullen family the best answer is always to go with Mexican! As their favorite food type you are sure to see a happy crowd!

Dancer Roster: Winston Goan,Mahela Ashraf, Katie Chappelle,Chelsea Fournier, Allie Haling, Taylor Hopp-Storey, Laura Inch, Alissa Johnson, Shawn Lopez, Meanie Lukas, Andrea McAuliffe, Ruhee Momin Rohun Pai, Carly Potts, Courtney Ramus, Daniel Rodak, Mada Salah-Ud-Din, Shireen Samadani, Hannah Wellman

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The Delorey Family Team J was paired with the Delancy/Parks family and has enjoyed getting to know Austin this year. This is their 11th year in Dance Marathon and Austin has really grown up with DM. Austin is a great young man and very down to earth. Team J is excited for Austin’s traditional performance at the marathon this year – he is becoming a pro!

Dancer Roster: Daniel Camilleri, Jane CHeng, Joshua Cho, Matthew DiTullio, Annie Dube, Natali Dulzo, Tylr Fisher, Emma Fricke, Angela Gao, Haley Goldberg, Alex Gortat, Daniell Jones Sarah Kolchinsky, Ranjit Nagi, Martha Powers,Erinn Sandberg, Marghrita Santelia, Lee Schechter, Michae Sylvester, Kate Toth

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The Madhivanan Family Paavlena Madhivanan is fourteen years old, and is so excited for her first year in Dance Marathon! Her family, parents Karl and Purnima, moved to Michigan this year from California and have been very involved in Dance Marathon throughout the year. Paavlen participates in Kids in Motion, as well as Martial Arts therapies. She loves to sing, dance, and swim, and is an arts ambassador at her middle school. She has fun at every DM event, and is always making new friends. She has also enjoyed hanging out with Teams M and K throughout the year.

Dancer Roster: Audrey Doher RIley Anderson,Tom Angers, Alexandra Blahunka, Meagan Clark, Jason Contangelo, Zachary Esposito, Rick Hamilton, Julia Kramr, Ashley Lewis, Megan Lung, Alex Mitchell, Brdget Quick, Mark Ryda, Noah Suzuki, TravisTubbs, Jessie Williams

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The Madhivanan Family Paavlena Madhivanan is fourteen years old, and is so excited for her first year in Dance Marathon! Her family, parents Karl and Purnima, moved to Michigan this year from California and have been very involved in Dance Marathon throughout the year. Paavlen participates in Kids in Motion, as well as Martial Arts therapies. She loves to sing, dance, and swim, and is an arts ambassador at her middle school. She has fun at every DM event, and is always making new friends. She has also enjoyed hanging out with Teams M and K throughout the year.

Dancer Roster: Charlotte Rath, Tamar Adler, Celine Barthelemy, Valerie Barthelemy, Rachel Baumgold, Morgan Cornelius, Hosea Cunningham, Eleanor Davis, Katharine Kovan, Kate Lypen, Colleen McBain, Jake Mell, Melissa Rutzen, Rebecca Schweyen, Salima Sewani, Joshua Simon, Gabe Smith, Hannah Walsh

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The Waterman Family Conor Waterman, along with his parents, John and Deborah, are paired up with Team N this year. Conor and his parents are very into mountain biking and Conor himself has also been known to be quite the public speaker (and dancer too!). Team N feels honored to have such a great family to pair up with this year that helped create great DMUM memories.

Dancer Roster: Matt Norden, Kevin Byrne, Kate Cwikiel, Kathleen Duddy, Samantha Fischer, Alexandra Fox, Ellen Goedert, Kathleen Grace, Katherine Man, Halley Morrison, Kaia Olson, Leila Pozin, Alexandria Putich, Avery Scarcelli, Shirley Shue, Ethan Srinivasan, Chad Zimmerman

O m a Te

The Greene Family Team O is super excited to be paired with the Greene Family. This is their second year with DM has made the year even more amazing, and it took only a few hours for them to win our hearts. Whether it’s been doing crafts or just hanging out, their daughter Alyssa has kept us constantly laughing and chasing after her at every event. We cannot wait to spend 30 hours with her at the marathon!

Dancer Roster: Karin Koseck, Arooj Aslam, Stephanie Benjamin, Gretchen Bentz, Allison Budd, Sarah Chronister, Emily DeSanti, Danielle FOster, Brianna Hunt, Anna Koseck, Emily Rheaume, Carlee Rosenthal, Bethany Schroth, Reeya Shah

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The Kato-Steele Family The Kato-Steele family has been involved with Dance Marathon for many years. Skylar is 12 years old and his sister Jasmine is 16. Skylar loves playing laser tag and going bowling. He enjoys NASCAR and going to local car races.

Skye also loves to talk with his friends on his cell phone-especially on his bluetooth! We are so excited to spend time with the KatoSteele’s and Skye at the marathon this year!

Dancer Roster: Kirsin Reece, Lisa Bender, Mary Buckley, Andrea Byl, Emma Carlson, Caroline Chevat, Dnaielle DuBois, Bennie Howard, julia Jacovides, Sayre Jedele, Andrea Koueiter, Arthur Lee, Joana McKeoun, Melissa Newman, Manish Patel, Elizabeth Porter, Julie Sherbill, Caitlin Tommasulo, Kein Weiss

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The Lickman Family

Dancer Roster: Lindsay Catanzarite, Jessica Cook, Juli Damey, Kail Delacruz, Lindsey Frick, Abby Genise, Ashley Hayner, Alyssa High, Karli Hilgendorf, Diane Kibiloski, Nicole Kremer, Elizabeth Ona, Christine Ree, Jenna Sargent, Meghan Shaffer, Alexandria Suseland

Team Q is thrilled to be paired with the The Lickman Family. They loved the year with their DM team, getting visits from dancers during Emily’s 2 week stay in the hospital as well as weekly visitors to cheer her on at therapy! Emily, 5 years old, participates in DM horseback riding and Summer Camp. She is also a member of the Shining Stars Cheerleading team with other DM kids. Younger sister Sophia is an amazing gymnast and tumbles and flips everywhere and anywhere. Emily continues her intensive Physical Therapy 5 days a week with the ultimate goal of walking! Sophia, 3 years old, Emily’s younger sister is Emily’s best friend and greatest companion. They both truly enjoy one another’s company. Watching their interactions is a true joy. Not to be forgotten are Emily’s very supportive and wonderful parents: Phil and Michelle.

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The Stephenson Family The Rockstars couldn’t be happier having Jacob as a member of their team! Jacob is 12 years old and was also involved in DMUM last year. He participates in Dance Marathon therapies like Kids In Motion and Top Soccer.

In his free time he loves playing sports like basketball and hockey and is always excited to spend time with his team at family events. This year, looking extra spiffy in his suit, he outdanced all of his team members at the annual Charity Ball!

Dancer Roster: Emily Berger, Charlotte Berschback, Shelby Burgess, Jennie Coleman, Alyssa Daugherty, Kendall Effinger, Amy Evron, Laura Garber, Caroline Holdren, Jenny Johnson, Mandi Koons, Samuel Kusinitz, Katherine Liu, Kelly Paulisin, Leah Resnick, Catherine Sols, Kate Sullivan

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The Carson Family The Carsons have 14-year-old twin sons Michael and Alex and a 10-year old son, Evan.

Michael has been attending DM-sponsored Martial Arts therapy, and is having a blast. He LOVES sports, especially Michigan football, hockey, and basketball! He participates in bowling, Special Olympics, and plays baseball.

He just learned how to tie his shoes! The Carsons are a first year DM family, so we are pumped to show them the DM love!

Dancer Roster: Mallory Cambell, Emily Cedar, Joanna Connelly, Caterine Ewads, Yara Ganem, Kayla Gischen, Sarah Irie, Amanda Johnson, Scott Lesa, Ekaterina Makneva, Abigail Morrison, Hannah Reses, Leslie Russell, Nina Sawyer, Vertika Srivastava, Jacqueline Seinberg

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The Zhou Family Team T is excited to be paired with the Zhou family. Nine-year-old Albert is full of energy, and absolutely loves to color. He participates in Dance Marathon’s PEAC cycling program.

We had a great time at pumpkin carving, and look forward to seeing the family at the marathon!

Dancer Roster: James Adas, Kristi Begonja, Gillian Bigert Melissa Bruno, Stephanie Exton, Joslyn Jackson, Meredith Martz, Breanna Miller, Nin Mo, Tam Nguyen, Chelsea Selden, Christopher Shu, Jackie Vresics, Adam Watkins, Emma Westerman, Ryan Widner

U m a Te

The Michalik Family Team U is also paired with the Michalik Family. Amanda participates in PEAC bike riding, Special Olympics, loves coloring and drawing. She enjoys playing basketball and going on vacations in their fifth wheel. Getting to know Amanda has been a fun experience for Team U. She’s funny, sassy and easy to get along with!

Dancer Roster: Kay Ali, Brett Bergy, Meera Bhaskar, Sam Burhans, Sema Erzouki, Nina Gavrilovic, Lauren Gilezan, Scott Greiner, Jessie Hieber Sonja Karnovsky, Daniel La Feir, Alexandria Miller, Harsha Nahata, Hayley Pline, Theresa Redfern, Jillian Robbins, Monica Walls

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The Patrias Family Alyssa and her mom, Sue have been involved with Dance Marathon for several years now.

Alyssa is an amazing 14 year old who loves singing, dancing and cheerleading, she’s even traveled to Texas for a cheer competition, where she performed a solo cheer routine.

Alyssa also happens to be one of the biggest Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga fans you’ll ever meet, she loves to dress up and dance like them! Team V has loved getting to know Alyssa, and can’t wait to show off the dance moves she’s taught them at the Marathon!

Dancer Roster: Samantha ech, Laurin Aman, Britny Blankenship, Rachel Christensen, Ellen Dubois, Anna Frutaglio, Yixuan Ma, Meredith Merritt, Kelly Muir, Connor Roncaioli, Florianne Silvestri, Matt Tannenbaum, Kyle Twadelle, Catelyn VanDerkolk, Jeffrey Vandervennet

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The Kanclerz Famiy

Dancer Roster: Matthew Zedro, Blake Arthurs, Emily Chackunkal, aige Galecki, Daniel Hart, Sarah Kalmbach, Jen Leija, Angela Manzo, Laura Mark, Megan Nas, Pamela Safirstein, Anne Schulte, Christian Schulte, Valentine Shammami, Joseph Shopp, Matt Vosters

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The Kanclerz family had their first Dance Marathon experiences at the University of Florida and as soon as they arrive to the chilly weather or Michigan they knew that they wanted to join our very own Dance Marathon! As a third year family, Janice and her son Jonah have continued to inspire dancers through their fun-loving personalities.

Whether it is a day at Java Jungle running around with Jonah or a photo album Janice sends from family vacations- this family knows exactly what keeps us all standing at the Marathon! Jonah has shown so much growth over the past few years as he has worked through various sensory disabilities.

When Jonah first joined us at Pumpkin Carving he was very nervous to be surrounded by so many students and a flurry of activity. Today, Jonah is the first one to volunteer to participate in group activities at events like Winter Event and he loves hanging out with all his Dance Marathon friends.

Now in elementary school Jonah has been doing a great job of keeping up with his peers both academically and socially. The Kanclerz family has taught us all so much about the possibility for Dance Marathon to be a type of therapy that creates a forum for children to reach their full potential.

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The Latendresse Family The Latendresse family consists of Shelley, Mark, and their only son Kyle. Kyle is 7 going on 8 years old on March 22. Kyle participates in Martial Arts Therapy because his dad used to practice martial arts. Kyle LOVES hanging out with his Dance Marathon friends. He likes Legos, vampires, and a ton of different movies, including Star Wars.

Dancer Roster: Mitchell DeWitt, Jennifer Brady, Sara Cohen, Michael Duhaime, Lauren Himmel, Kaitlin Knarre, Rohan Meta, Sapna Musunur, LaurenOpatwski, Meagan Rapin, Cassandra Rickard, Nora Saar, Erica Twanmo, Kristin Winn, Karla Zoratti

Z m a Te

The Forsythe Family Team Z is so pumped to be paired with the Forsythe family in their second year with DM. Noah is nine years old and full of energy.

Noah loves to sing, dance and be on stage.

The Forsythe Family enjoys going to the park to play with the dogs, swim at the lake and traveling!

Dancer Roster: Rachel Butler, Angela DeGraaf, Peter Feng, Kayla Gawlik, Sarah Kim, Kristen Marotta, Emma Miller, Jennifer Miu, Caroline Munzel, Allison Petty, Johanna Poterala, Rachel Rademher, Bruce Schultz, Robin Stein, Jason Weslosky

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The Gala-Garza Family No matter what event you see the Gala-Garza boys at you will probably find them on the go! Whether Andre or Thomas is headed for a ride their bikes with friends or off to baseball practice. Also, if you ever are in need of some computer advice you have come to the right place because these boys love their electronic games! After a day of fun in the sun hiking you can find this family relaxing and enjoying some of their favorite fast food restaurants, for example McDonalds or a pizza place!

Dancer Roster: Sarah Block, Molly Brower, Victoria Choe, Peter Chun, Emily Cieslik, Danielle Elfassy, Whiteney Herman, Molly Kemp, Chrissy Looney, David Meza, Adam Perry, Meredith Reed, Luke Robbins, Taylor Schweitzer, Kris Wegener, Sarah Wright

Team CC

The Zeleznik Family No matter what event you see the Gala-Garza boys at you will probably find them on the go!

Whether Andre or Thomas is headed for a ride their bikes with friends or off to baseball practice. Also, if you ever are in need of some computer advice you have come to the right place because these boys love their electronic games! After a day of fun in the sun hiking you can find this family relaxing and enjoying some of their favorite fast food restaurants, for example McDonalds or a pizza place!

Dancer Roster: Erin Beathard, Carly Alanouf, Mary Pat Beaufait, Amanda Beune, Monica Cerrezuela, Alicia Colley, Laura Hernandez, Priya Joshi, Mara Lawrence, Kristyn Lewis, Ali Lindauer, Alex Madda, Teija Madusoodanan, Sahana Malik, Katherine Reidy, Anna Zaleski

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The Barsy Family Cameron and Team DD have been getting to know each other better all year through pen pal Letters! We are excited to welcome this family back for their 11th year with DM and look forward to seeing them at the marathon and beyond!

Dancer Roster: Kristen Boschma, Rahul Bonnerjee, Hayley Braun, Matt Buch, Rachel Cook, Zack Durham, Elliot Jackson, tSam Jackson, Priyanka Murthy, Steve Nair, Taylor Schmidt, Emma Schneider, Alan Sedghi, Claire Sorek, Amanda Tracy, Adam Weissler

Team EE

The Perry Family The Perry family has been a part of Dance Marathon since the very first year. Briggs is 17 and has been so much fun to hang out with this year. He is smart and hilarious. He loves to play football and participate in his church youth group. We have had so much fun with him this year. He has been hinting to us about his marathon performance and the practicing he’s been doing and we are really excited to be there when he performs.

Dancer Roster: Rachel Alpert, Steven Benson, Maegan Davis, Jacob Diskin, Melissa Frohman, Joe Gelber, Michelle Kappy, Jordan Korn, Brian Korngold, Drew Kurtzman, Sarah Lee, Nicole Maistrow, Julie Mirliss, Calie Morrow, Maya Moskowitz, Megan Nemandoust, Molly Rosen, Matt Seplowe, Brett Singer, Emily Zussman

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The Parry Family The Parry family has been a part of Dance Marathon since the very first year. Briggs is 17 and has been so much fun to hang out with this year. He is smart and hilarious. He loves to play football and participate in his church youth group. We have had so much fun with him this year. He has been hinting to us about his marathon performance and the practicing he’s been doing and we are really excited to be there when he performs.

Dancer Roster: Harith Bashir, Chelsea Belanger, Caroline Canning, David Goldstein, Rachel Joyce, Karin Lavie, Katie Marney, Laura Mason, Mallory Mutual, Brianne Papendick, Parisa Shahbaz, Jacob Troyer, Ariel West, Kiley Whitlock

Team GG

The Bromberg Family If you have been to the Marathon before there is no way that you haven’t met Luke and his family! Luke is an avid sports fan that can list off facts for just about every Wolverine sport’s team. As both a Wolverine and a River Rat at Ann Arbor Huron High school, Luke is a fun and outgoing teen who has now started classes at both his high school and the local community college. One of Luke’s favorite Ann Arbor hang out spots is in the Union, so while studying look out for Luke and be sure to take a break to say hello and catch-up!

Dancer Roster: Megan Ellias, Karen Baweja, Elizabeth Bronson, Lindsay Bruner, Steve Charette, Erin Fox, Ruby Griggs, Stephanie Huber, Leigh Ann Ives, Paula Jones, Chelsea Myers, Rachelle Randall, Garret Roe, Vishal Shah, Erica Timinski, Lindsey Van Lierop

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Team HH

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The Lubis Family Dance Marathon is excited to welcome the Lubis family back for their 11th year! They have enhanced the experience of so many dancers over the years, and especially with team HH this year! Team HH has loved getting to know the family at events such as Teen Event where we watched Harry Potter and played some board games. Also, Tony loves dancing, especially to High School Musical Three!

Dancer Roster: Melissa Brown, Philip Bonello, Nicole Cook, Rachel Cook, Jennifer Erley, Robby Feldman, Isabella Ingels, Juson Jaco, Chip Koziara, Matthew Kraus, Jacquelyn Misco, Crystal Mitchell, Jenna Nevins, David Panter, Beatrice Tepel, Kayla Walters, Katy White

Team II

The Foster Family Alexis and Team II have had so much fun at the family events this year! especially PJ Party!

Team II cannot wait to see how many fun and exciting things they can share at the Marathon!

We know she loves to play Frisbee so we cannot wait for that!

Dancer Roster: Tim Burroughs, Mitra Daneshvar, Abby Dudley, Katie Gauthier, Jeannie Kochkodan, Sara Kosuth, Sean Masters, Molly Mayer, Kathryn McDonald, Maire McEwen, Madeline Moore, Stephanie Mulka, Caitltn Rize, Katie Ryan, Nicholas Sousa, Elizabeth Swindle

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Team JJ

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Team JJ is paired with Riegel-Green family and their twins William and Bella. Both children participate in therapies at Beaumont Hospital including Speech Therapy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and several summer groups. William and Bella turned 10 in November. William joined a basketball team and Bella is on the cheerleading them that cheers them on. Throughout the year our team has gotten to know the family at various DM events. We cannot wait to see this dynamic duo at the Marathon!

Dancer Roster: Zachary Lybeck, Gina Bugli, Alexander Cook, Jessica Fryer, Megan Knuth, Katie McNally, Henry Moss, Robert Murch, Cloryssa Pennington, Curtis Reilly, Danielle Ringer, Lead Schmid, Shauna Sitarek, Chelsea Steffens, Samuel Woods

Team KK

The Scroggins Family

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Sam and his family have been very busy this year with school, wheelchair basketball, student council, and being ten, but he has still found time for Dance Marathon. He has had a great time hanging out with Team KK, and can’t wait for the Marathon. He plans to take anyone who will challenge him on in a heated game of basketball!

Dancer Roster: Ashley Karadsheh, Jason Brown, Amanda Farris, Lauren Gordo, Mackenzie Heron, Alessandra Jannette, Jamie Kosberg, Ian Mark, Torre Palermino, Monica Philipp, Anna Rumler, Zachary Salander, Joe Tramer, Peter Wasky

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The Matthews Family The Matthews family has been involved in Dance Marathon for many years. The girls, Daphne and Phoebe, 11, have participated in DM therapies such as PEAC and are interested in joining the new ice hockey program. Their sister, Ivy, and their parents, Kirsten and Darwin, enjoy coming to as many DM events as their busy schedule allows.

The DM therapies Daphne and Phoebe are involved in have made a big impact on them, both socially and physically.

Dancer Roster: Megan Goff, Jordan Call, Lena Carleton, Kristin Cooper, Deepika Desai, Katie Grassa, Mark Kempa, Danielle Kramer, Peter Leicht, Kelsey Moore, Reilly Richardson, Aditi Shetty, Laura Vitous

Team MM

The Jacobs Family

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Team MM and the Jacobs family were a match made in heaven this year! Abby comes dressed to the nines to events this year, in her favorite tiaras and pop star costumes! We will see parents Beckie and Brian, and kids Abby, Alyssa, and Kim at the marathon and beyond!

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Dancer Roster: Rosaline Tio, Nathan Beaty, Alexandra Brozek, Cindy Chau, Kelsey Ehnle, Sydney Gallup, Gwen Gormley, Hollie Kicinski, Natalie Kittikul, Danielle Mai, Olivia Mariani, Sweta Maturu, Christina Pechette, Nicole Saghy, Kathryn Schwenn, Anna Sedlar, Nadia Sion, Olivia Thompson

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Team NN

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The Dirette Family Team NN is paired with the wonderful Dirette family this year. Parents Bruce and Elizabeth have absolutely loved all their experiences in Dance Marathon. Their son Christopher loves his team and cannot wait to spend more time with them at the Marathon.

Dancer Roster: Christie Wilde, Molly Clark, Heather Cooper, Gaurang Garg, Sravanthi Gutta, Lauren Hasday, Lisa Hebda, Nathan Jacobs, Roshni Khurana Erin Kirkland, Colleen Oberc, Libby O’Connell, Munira Spiller, Mariah Van Ermen, Anna West

Team OO

The Luhrs Family The Lurhs Love Dance Marathon! Team OO has been so happy to be paired with the Luhr family. Ben and his family are some of the most welcoming and kind people you could ever expect to meet! Whether it is Ben’s big bear hugs or his excitement when he sees a familiar face there is no way not to smile when you meet Ben! The families favorite event this far was Pumpkin Carving because Ben and his siblings enjoyed the chance to dress up in costume.The Luhr family first got involved with Dance Marathon through our programming like Summer Camp and Tree Climbing in the fall.

Dancer Roster: Sarah Brennerm Amanda Alex, Laura Bou-Maroun, Anthony Farah, Caleb Fogel, Tittu Francis, Whitney Goris, Kelly Hahn, Steven Hoshal, Davud Kucukarslan, Milan Lockhart, Regina Matar, Erin Niswander, Alexis Sears, Taylor Sharp, Gillian Smith, Laura Sullivan

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Team PP

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The Muffler Family The Muffler family has been involved in Dance Marathon for four years! The family has three boys Michael, Matthew, and Mark along with their mother Laurie and father Ron. They are all so excited to be a part of the Dance Marathon at the University of Michigan.

Matthew and Mark enjoy all the great opportunities that Dance Marathon brings to them. The family loves being able to laugh and play with the team at all the events and activities throughout the year. You can always count on seeing them smiling and having a good time!

Dancer Roster: Alex Fedrigon, Marcus Brown, Sam Gross, Suzanne Hardy, Helena Hernandez, Jakob Hoellerbauer, Christina Knbrossi, Matthew Maerten, Michael Nevitt, Jason Okrasinski, Adrienne Roberts, Alyssa Smith, Kylie Steenbergh

Team QQ

The Peguese Family Team QQ loves hanging out with the Peguese twins Miles and Evan! As a team we went to Chuck E. Cheese and had so much fun– Evan played skee ball the entire time and Miles played every game he could get his hands on!

Team QQ (aka the Quirky Quibblers) cannot WAIT to hang out with them at the marathon!

Dancer Roster: Stephanie Betcher, Steven Czabaniuk, Rayna Foster, Maryel Harris, Jasmine Injejikian, Ryan Jones, Becky Jordan, Samuel Kosinski, Sabreen Mansour, Arielle Markowitz, Katie Mauro, Maggie McGuire, Annie Oxner, Claie Van Winkle, Shelby Wehner, Joe Yancho

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The Zigulis Family The Zigulis boys Bradley and Timmy love to be active and competitive. From playing Twister at the Pajama Party to leading the line dances at Charity ball, they are always eager to be a part of the action. This year at Charity Ball, Bradley amazed us with his performance of Katy Perry’s Firework. He performed the music video choreography flawlessly! When the boys aren’t at a Dance Marathon event, you can often find them playing laser tag or attending a Michigan basketball game. The Zigulis’ are true wolverines!

Dancer Roster: Lauren Baker, Jordan Blossom, Megan Czerwinski, Julia Egofske, Taylor Jones, Paul Joseph, Michael Kiriazis, Matthew Lyon, Kiley Matulaitis, Bethany Meyer, Kevin Michaud, Kathryn Neubauer, Katie O’Brien, Meaghan O’Connor, Justin Palka, Alyssa Paul, Kathryn Pelino, Zachary Petroni, Julia Porth, Eva Pullano, Carrie Rich, Cait Ryan, Matt Schoendorf, Leah Steinberg, Rick Stepanovic, Adam teholis, Lilly Ulfers, Paige Van Kampen, Brianna Weisbord, McKenna Williamson, Maria Young

Team SS

The Godek Family The Godek family, comprised of mom, Kim and boys, Miles and Chase, love being involved in Dance Marathon. Miles participates in many Dance Marathon sponsored therapies including PEAC, Top Soccer, Kids in Motion, Bowling, and Hockey. Kim is so appreciative for everything Dance Marathon has provided for him. Miles is a fantastic artist and has loved showing his team his skills at all of the family events. The Godeks are big U of M fans and love attending the various athletic events throughout the year.

Dancer Roster: Alexis Biaggi, Becca Covode, Max Cupp, Kristin Gervasi, Zachary Goldman, Chelsea GOlub, Alyssa Johnson, Jenny Kim, Erica Mertz, Katie Nogal, Sarah Pizer, Georgia Richardson, Tyler Rospond, Robert Schutt, Meghan Thorndike, Emily Vinckier, Melissa Weisberg, Edward Zaliagiris

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Team TT

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The Collins Family Lance and his dad are new to Dance Marathon this year. Lance is 11 years old and a huge fan of Eminem. He also likes to skateboard and watch scary movies. Team TT has had a great time with the Collins’ at all the Dance Marathon events but getting Lance to dance at Charity Ball was the highlight. We hope he’ll dance with us at the marathon!

Dancer Roster: Samantha Brish, Jeff Burgess, Celia Charlois, Melanie Faibish, Ellyn Gates, Heather Harroun, Alison Horn, Ellie Hunken, Kelsey Jones, Samantha Kublin, Emily Mancewicz, Megan Miller, Chelsey Satterlee, Meagan Strickland, Emily Wagoner, Eli Wolnerman

Team UU

The Frame Family

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Team UU is so happy to be paired with the Frame family. Parents Katheryn and David, and their five year old Kiera have loved getting to know their team this year. The Frames are a Mott family from Dexter, Michigan and have been so thankful for everything DM does at Mott. Kiera is a bundle of joy and her favorite food is Mac & Cheese. We know we will see her smiling face at the Marathon!

Dancer Roster: Sasha Altschuler, Christina Beckman, Tyler Bitterman, Kylan Boehlke, Maria Bambriunas, Jimmy Galus, Molly Gordon, Kathryn Hohs, Sarah Horn, Alexandra McCoy, Jennier Mulligan, Ho Man Tang, Kevin Yarows

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The Srivastava Family Team VV is paired with the Srivastava family. Aditi is 11 and loves spongebob, ice skating, popcorn, and playing soccer. This is the Srivastava’s first time in Dance Marathon and they got involved through the Top Soccer program. We hope they had a great time this year and continue to participate in Dance Marathon!

Dancer Roster: Erin Bianco, Samer Al-Humadi, Michael Brown, Kristen Cleghorn, Emily Dabish, Tarek Ghaddar, Andrew Green, Chelsea Hoedl, Katelyn Hoisington, Salman Imam, Kristin Lemley, Shannon Neville, Preston Parish, Kristin Prestel, Amanda Remer

Team WW

The Lang Family This is the Lang family’s first year with Dance Marathon! Emma is 6 years old and absolutely loves the Toy Story movies. Her younger sister Allison loves all colors, except purple! The girls – especially Emma – love to dance, and they both can speak a little Chinese! Emma participates in DM sponsored therapies at Beaumont such as Handwriting and Social Groups. Both girls are full of energy, and we can’t wait to see them at their first Marathon!

Dancer Roster: Katie Baughman, Rehan Ahmand, Dominique Crum, Emily Cummings, Jaclyn Facca, Nicole Hankus, Jane Harness, Stephanie Jordet, Breanna Meyer, Alex Morse, Jenna Ross, Katherine Steen, Clare Toeniskoetter, Kathryn Wassman

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Team XX

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The Onyx Family Lance and his dad are new to Dance Marathon this year. Lance is 11 years old and a huge fan of Eminem. He also likes to skateboard and watch scary movies. Team TT has had a great time with the Collins’ at all the Dance Marathon events but getting Lance to dance at Charity Ball was the highlight. We hope he’ll dance with us at the marathon!

Dancer Roster: Nicole Manningham, Brigitte Afari, Joseph Altizer, Lauren Banish, Kimberly Brisse, Jessica Das, Michael Ho, Brenna Hoffman, Allie Levasseur, Alyssa Levine, Claire Potocki, Joanna Rapoport, Madeline Smith, Leni Truong, Emilie Zemanek

Team YY

This year Team YY paired up with the Dickson family! Scott is 14 years old and absolutely loves playing and watching hockey. Scott also likes sharing his extensive knowledge about technology, especially cell phones. He learned some sweet dance moves with us at the Charity Ball this year and we are excited to dance and hang out with him more at the MARATHON!

Dancer Roster: Armin Moaddel, Antonina Crudo, Shaina Dudek, Rebecca Fritz, Janice Gong, Alison JungquistEma Kahe, Jason Karslake, Kaitlin Keane, Victoria Kuipers, Erin McLaughlin, Emily Rooney, Anthony Salem, Alexandra Smedley, Samantha Spierling, Callie Stewart, Hamid Thompson, Brittany Tincher

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The Sebille-Whites are back for another great year in Dance Marathon. Team ZZ is so happy to be paired with such a great family. Lynne and Scott have been such an amazing pair for their daughter Lauren. They have been so active this year and we have loved getting to know Lauren so well! Lauren participates in Know Obstacles, a sing group for disabled children.

She also participates in Top Soccer and her favorite food is Mexican!

Dancer Roster: Emily Byl, Doug Cameron, Michael Carnegie, Amanda Chiti, Taylor Dereadt, Clark Frye, Ethan Hahn, Ryan Just, Maureen Kelly, Manan Kocher, Marilyn Kubek, Dhineshkumar Muthu Taylor Portela, Liana Raggio, Katie Rokakis, Jordan Sabolish, Rebecca Steffen, Matthew Williams, Brandon Wood

Team A AA

The Buss Family Team AAA and BBB are excited to welcome the Buss family to their first in year with Dance Marathon. Parents Holli and Rod are so proud of their children Devon and Chandler. They participate in Milestone therapy at Mott Children’s Hospital and have loved their experience thus far with Dance Marathon. The absolutely love eating out and their favorite food is Mexican! We cannot wait to see them at the Marathon!

Dancer Roster: Emma Stevens, Ryan Doherty, Jen Garb, Ashley Goldenberg, Hussein Haidar, Olivia Hodgkiss, Jessica Kreamer, Katie O’Donnell, Natalie Snider, Samuel Song, Karly Stillman Laura Swierzbin, Mark Toast, Mark Yurich

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The Buss Family Team AAA and BBB are excited to welcome the Buss family to their first in year with Dance Marathon. Parents Holli and Rod are so proud of their children Devon and Chandler. They participate in Milestone therapy at Mott Children’s Hospital and have loved their experience thus far with Dance Marathon. The absolutely love eating out and their favorite food is Mexican! We cannot wait to see them at the Marathon!

Dancer Roster: Michelle Blain, Melissa Diliverti, Vincent Grzywacz, Laura Hadad, Lauren King, Margaret Koch, Morgan Mazique, Elizabeth Messenger, Nicole Pentis, Lane Ritchie, Angela Thelen, Allison Thibodeau

Team C CC

The Brigger Family The Brigger family is the Briggest thing to hit DM in years! Team CCC has loved getting to know Katie, a 14 year old superstar. Parents Heather and Clark and their 3 kids are a lovely group. Katie has been working on horseback riding this year and loves to stay active with bike riding, camping, and traveling. They love spending time in Ann Arbor, and their favorite restaurant is Pizza House! We can’t wait to see them at the Marathon.

Dancer Roster: Julie Ruppe, Alyssa Christie, Hannah Cottrel, Jessica Dirven, Jourdan Gariepy, Ali Gpurley, Sarah Hilu, Anna Hodges, Erin Huffnagle Natasha Irani, Cait Kerber, Abby Kraus, Megan Ling, Megan Matthews, Kathleen Metz, Allison Ozurovich, Mary Reid, Colleen Scibienski, Cassidy Winter, Deanna Zerafa

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The Larson Family Team DDD is thrilled about the Larsons!

Parents Stacy and David, with their son Conner are such a happy family. For fun, Conner loves going on hay rides and train rides. They are an awesome Beaumont Family and we’re so thankful they have come out to see us. Connor’s favorite foods are noodles and Buddy’s Pizza. We can’t wait to see them at the marathon!

Dancer Roster: Nikhil Kalothia, Guneet Ahluwalia, Nicole Batchelor, Rachel Chase, Zachary Frorenza, Lydia Gardynik, Lindsey Hiemstra, Elizabeth Kennedy, Heather Lucier, Emily Pfaff, Lita Ray, Joseph Stevens, Kelly Swor

Team EEE

The Muzzarelli Family Team EEE loves the Muzzarelli family!

Parents Wendy and Anthony have been so great sharing stories with us. Their daughter Paige participates in therapies at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. She loves going to the zoo, movie theatre, and pool. Some of her favorite things to listen to are Disney songs and Hawaiin music. They are such a wonderful family and we can’t wait to see Paige and the rest of the Muzzarellis at the marathon!

Dancer Roster: Stacey Cohen, Chelsea Groen, Rachel Grosh, Erika Henningsen, Randy Klasing, Peter Kotvis, Noelle Lee, Nick Marzec, Madelaine Moeke, Julia Mogerman, Rachel Rowlands, Eric Saut, Shannon Taylor, Justin Stplitz, Kyle Thiel, Michelle Wang

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The Hanna/Hockridge/Sawrak Family Team FFF is so excited about being paired with the Hanna/Hockridge/Sawrak Family.

The family includes mom, Lori, and two sons, Kevin and Keith. Kevin is 11 and loves laser tag. We had a lot of fun with him at Pumpkin Carving! We cannot wait to see him at the Marathon!

Dancer Roster: Jeremy Batt, Emily Behm, Rachel Bruner, Justine Ciaravino, Jessica Kaltz, Melissa Lichtenwald, Maddi Reeves, Megan Richards, Erin Swor, Mike Szymusiak, Elizabeth Tennent, Hannah Tuttle

Team G GG

The Perry Family The Perry family has loved DM this year.

Team GGG has really enjoyed getting to know Summer, daughter of Kevin and Karen. They participate in therapies through Beaumont Hospital. Their favorite one is Martial Arts!

Summer really loves pop music and her legendary movie nights. Her favorite food is macaroni and cheese. We can’t wait for Summer to give us a big hug at the Marathon!

Dancer Roster: Abagael Adair, Chris Archer, Natasha Boruszok, Amanda Burnside, William Filbey, Sarah Fowlkes, Kwonil Hong, Adam Kinzel, Gianna Marx, Emily Richards, Amanda Sena, Jacqueline Shea, Eric Tian, Melissa Trebil Family: The Dickson Family

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The Rice Family Team HHH loves being paired with the Rice family. The Rice family is a 7th-year family and Team HHH is enjoying their enthusiasm. They are a big family full of love and it is always great to see them. Team HHH is excited to see Camille Jonathan and Joshua and the rest of the Rice family at the Marathon!

Dancer Roster: Ho Lau, Jonathan Ahearn, Christina Arnold, Kathryn Becker, Yash Bhutada, Hillary Cleckler, Laura Cwengros, Ann Duong, Chelsea Evans, Melanie Jacobs, Katerina Katsoulis, Whitney Luke, Jon Muncie, Ramez Philips, Jen Prouty, Sudeepti Rachakonda, Elizabeth Rich, Sara Robinson, Benjamin Rosenthal, Serena Sana, Jenna Sanfilippo, Laura Schenkel, Eryn Smith, Trevor Tooley, Cassie VanAcker, Jonathon Vargo, Lauren Zakrajsek

Team III

The Bhojani Family The Bhojani family has been a part of the DM family for five years, and their sons Umang and Arav love spending time with their teams. Umang is diagnosed with cerebral palsy and has difficulty using the left side of his body. This has not stopped him from being extremely involved in many activities, including martial arts therapy which he enjoys very much. Umang and Arav love Bollywood music and in years past have spent some high quality time at Chuck E. Cheese with their teams. The Bhojani family loves DM events and is anxiously awaiting the Marathon!

Dancer Roster: Michael Czerwinski, Alyssa Arnesen, Allison Berman, Zac Boyd, Brigette Bucholz, Sitaram Chivukula, Julie Dunn, Lars Johnson, Ian Larson, William McDowell, Chris Sefcheck, Rachel Simon, Alex Smith, Rachel Szczembara, Christine Vetere

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The Marshall Family Team JJJ is so excited about being paired with the Marshalls. It has been so great getting to know Elissa and her parents Denise and Bill.

Elissa is a total foodie. Some of her favorites are loves fettucinni alfredo, orange roughy, and clam chowder. Elissa started bowling therapy in 2011 with Miracle League and absolutely loves it. We can’t wait to hear her latest stories about bowling and the rest of her therapy successes at the Marathon. We love the Marshalls!

Dancer Roster:Marlena Westerlund, Rohan Dharan, Micah Friedman, Kristen Hansen, Joanna Harr, Paige Moreno, Rebecca Segel , Kathleen Steinbock, Sherry Tang, Connie Truong, Emily Ventola, Mary Bridget Welch, Meredith Westerlund

Team LLL

The Skibbe Family The Skibbe family are first years with dance marathon. Zander (7 years old) loves to eat and has an adorable sister Elena (3 years old). They are a wonderful family that team LLL is lucky to get to know!

Dancer Roster: Melanie Sadur, Hilary Baruch, Carrie Burgess, Meredith Carrel, Chloe Ciarrocchi, Kellie Donajkowski, Molly Harwood, Christina Krysinski, Daniel Levine, Mirele Mann, Ixchel Montenegro, Laine Putans, Levi Redmond, Jacob Streiter, Paul Talpos, Eileen Tausch, Benjamin Thompson, Sara Van Sant, Michael Wagner, Stephen Wald

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The LaVallee Family The LaVallee family has been involved with Dance Marathon for the past three years and loved every minute of it! Sam is 18 years old and is involved in Top Soccer, Tree Climbing, and Bowling. She loves the Cheetah Girls and Hannah Montana and is always smiling and laughing! Sam’s sister Aly is 10 years old and always comes to Dance Marathon events ready to make jokes and have fun! We feel so lucky to have been able to spend time with the LaVallees throughout this year and we cannot wait to see them at the marathon! CARPE TEAM MMM

Dancer Roster: Jaclyn Harwood, Rachelle Abraham, Alexis Baker, Erica Case, Amanda Czik, Foteini Goudra, Jessica Horton, Emily Meister, Alex O’Dell, Emily Prasad, Victoria Ranger, Amelia Schmid, Juliet Slutzker, Andrew Tehranisa

Admin Committee

Committees Tejas Joshi Sean McCarroll Katie Steigleder Anne Autio Dan Camilleri Jason Chalil Meredith Dickinson Jenny Miu

The administration committee took on a large role this year with building the database for Dance Marathon.

The A-team, as the committee was know internally, transitioned the database from Filemaker to Access, while incorporating new data. The committee built forms and tables to collect all relevant data, and was responsible for building forms and the visual interface for the rest of the Dance Marathon Central Planning Team. The committee was in charge of running reports that were vital to other chair positions, and helped cut down their work. They have built a solid foundation with the database, with the aim that the data collected can help the organization grow greatly.

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Scott Crompton Katherine Reidy Annie Schulte Adam Perry Kathleen Stearns Stephanie Exton

Community Outreach

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Corporate Foundation & Relations

Community Outreach Committee’s main goal is to expand Dance Marathon’s presence off-campus. They plan and execute public events that get people of all ages excited about DMUM’s mission and they are also responsible for communicating our cause to the public through various forms of media, such as newspaper, radio, and television. Fostering student leaders throughout the state of Michigan with the Mini Marathon Program that allows students K-12 to develop leadership skills while serving the community as they plan and execute their own Dance Marathon. This committee is ideal for fun-loving individuals who have an interest in public relations, event planning, or who simply want to spread the word about this awesome organization!

Megan Mathew Shannon Seiferth David Zhang Tori Raymond Sarah Craig Swapna Musunur

Derek Raymond David Panter Robby Felds

Responsible for soliciting philanthropic donations from and building sustainable relationships with local and national corporations and charitable foundations. This position entails overseeing the grant writing for Dance Marathon.

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Dancer Fundraising

Kris Gutowski (Pod 1) Audrey Doher (Pod 2) Sarah Irie (Pod 3) Taylor Schweitzer (Pod 4) Katie Ryan (Pod 5) Jasmine Injejikian (Pod 6) Armin Moaddel (Pod 7) Amanda Burnside (Pod 8)

Dancer Relations

The Dancer Fundraising committee took up the name of $.W.A.T. Team this year! Our committee has worked tirelessly to organize fundraising events, bucketing opportunities, and manage dancer accounts, while encouraging and brainstorming new and creative ways to help dancers reach $300. $.W.A.T. Team members are all also Dancer Captains, and they provide leadership within their Pod by coordinating fundraising efforts and overseeing the progress of fellow DCs and Dancers.

Winston Goan Lindsay Catanzarite Amanda Alex Julie Brickel Kristin Winn Peter Kotvis Katie Baughman Megan Ellias

The Dancer Relations committee consists of eight representatives, who work year-round to create a pod culture while also leading their team, as well as two Dancer Relations Chairs. Each committee member strives to provide the best possible Dance Marathon experience for each dancer. The committee has coordinated several training sessions, dancer orientations and one of the best dancer captain retreats to date!

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Development

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Caitlin Spinweber Katie Ryan Eddie Zaliagaris Christine Brichta Caroline Munzel Rachel Butler Becca Denenberg

Digital Marketing

The Development Committee works to establish new ways of reaching out and creating stronger relationships with the growing number of alumni and developing a unique DM experience that will carry on after graduation. The committee also strategically plans and implements the Annual Giving and Alumni Giving campaigns of Dance Marathon, fundraising and encouraging monetary support from past donors and Alumni in order to raise more funds to support the cause.

Bryan Fiema Chantal Laurens Stacey Cohen Suraj Patel

The Web Marketing committee works year round to operate, create and improve Dance Marathon’s web presence and utilization of technology and the internet. Digital Marketing also manages DM’s social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube. Members of this committee strive to make the website a valuable resource to the organization as well as the community by updating and designing the layout, information, media and many other aspects.

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Entertainment

Carly Cykiert Lauren Lewis Jillian Reddmann Austin Waldo

Event Management

The Entertainment Committee is responsible for recruiting both on campus and off campus performers, organizing the schedule, and managing the production for the Marathon.

David Porter Andrew Janatka Nilesh Dagli Chelsea Fournier Reeya Shah

Event Management is the committee that organizes all the logistics of the 30-hour Marathon in March. The things that they worked on during the year include: Setup & Teardown of the building pre- and post-Marathon, Transportation, Security, Waste Management, Volunteering, and Decorations, just to name a few. They’ve worked hard all year and are looking forward to running the show in March!

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Emma Stevens Monica Walls Eddie Zaliagiris Rachel Doig Brigette Bucholz Teija Madhusoodanan Peter Wasky Charlotte Rath

Finance

The Family and Hospital Relations (FHR) Committee works to forming strong bonds between families and teams, in addition to fostering awareness and advocacy for our cause. The FHR committee has four major aspects: Education, Events, Families, and Volunteering. Interacting with families, kids, fellow dancers, community members, and hospital staff in order to create an unwavering passion for the Dance Marathon cause. FHR Representatives play a key role in the creation, planning, and management for family and education events such as Charity Ball and Education Event. FHR representatives are also a part of pod leadership and help increase team’s understanding of the cause through education and volunteering efforts throughout the year.

Kristen Boschma Eric Dudek Emilee Moeke Justin Teplitz Jamie Kosberg Maddie Moeke Daniel Hart Valentine Shammami

The Financial Management Committee is responsible for maintaining the financial records of the organization.

This includes preparing documents for the Audit, organizing and analyzing financial information, filing taxes, money counting and soliciting funding from University sponsorship sources. We also work with other committees to establish budgets for the year. Members of this committee get a unique insight into some of the inner workings of the organization.

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Hospitality

Natalie Yieh Jane Cheng Gabriella Boufford Lauren Hasday Brittany Armellino Lauren Traudt

Q

A B

Amanda Koons Samantha Fischer Stephanie Exton

Marketing & Recruitment

The Hospitality Committee is responsible for soliciting food donations from local and corporate sponsors to feed participants at the Marathon and other year-round events. Throughout the year the committee also plans benefit dinners, contact new sponsors, and develop sponsor incentives. Within Hospitality is also the Gala sub-committee which was responsible for planning DMUM’s first annual Night to Make a Difference Event. The event offered a unique opportunity for community members to learn about our cause, interact with the beneficiaries of our organization, and enjoy a night of good food and good company.

Erica McTurk James McCarroll Bryant Yee Olivia Stewart Nicole Cook Arooj Aslam Angela Chih

Gaurav Gidwani Andrea McAuliffe

The purpose of the Marketing & Recruitment committee is to brand and promote Dance Marathon in a way that encourages campus and community members to get involved in the organization. By conceptualizing campaigns and designing various advertising materials, Marketing & Recruitment creates the Dance Marathon image. Marketing & Recruitment is also responsible for maintaining relations with other student organizations across campus.

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Morale

FD

E

C

M H

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L P G Ross Goldberg Jenny Feuer Julie Blaszczak Katie Lauzon Rebecca Howie Elise Gross Alyssa Putich Erica Trierweiler Katie Stearns Moussa Ndoye Ellen Stewart

I Brian Marentay Ali Phillips Elsa Pechlivanidis Stephanie Poindexter Mike Kren Nikki McIntyre Erin Keyes Group Activities Rachel Garfinkel Sam Bruni Katie Fatum

N

O

Chris Dietzel Sam Sergi Neha Khandhadia Mallory Edel Katie Schornhorst RJ Rivard Jess Lapworth Jill Bentschneider Michele Miller Deanna Hart

The Morale Committee’s responsibility is to create an exciting team atmosphere, and plan and execute events and activities during the year and at the Marathon. Each Morale Captain is paired with two or three teams, and works with his or her Dancer Captains and dancers to keep them informed about DM events and energized throughout the year, as well as at the Marathon. The committee of 31 members is broken down into five smaller subcommittees which focus on media production, team competitions, group activities, designing stations, and break-making. Members of the Morale Committee are very dedicated, supportive, enthusiastic, and creative.

Central Planning Team/Associate Teams Directors Executive Director: Eric Elgin Internal Director: Lea Wender External Director: Aaron Hans Operations Director: Robyn Paul Planning Director: Meg Harrison

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Y

S

RU

XT

V

W

Z

Q

Planning Associate Team Meg Harrison (Director) Laura Tomassi David Porter Lauren Palmer Kevin Parker

Internal Associate Team Lea Wender (Director) Sarah Lahidji Solomon Ravich Liam Scott Ashley Houle Emily Fogelsonger Michael Brown

External Associate Team Aaron Hans (Director) Alyse Kowalick Emily Wanserski Aaron Tarver Maggie Dudley Aysha Majeed Marah Casey

Operations Associate Team Robyn Paul (Director)

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Sean McCarroll Tejas Joshi Jillian King Radhika Bhula Chantal Laurens\ Bryan Fiema

A B

Events Pumpkin Carving Pumpkin carving is a classic DMUM event and this year didn’t disappoint! Families and dancers joined forces and participated in many fall-themed crafts and games, and an incredible turnout packed the Chem Building on campus.

Both kids and dancers came dressed in crazy costumes and enjoyed spending time, and many teams met their families for the first time.

The highlights of the event this year included a scavenger hunt, crafts galore, and of course pumpkin carving!

Go Blue Beat OSU Dollar Duel This year, Dance Marathon and Ohio State University’s BuckeyeThon took part in the 2nd Annual Dollar Duel! During the week leading up to the Michigan-Ohio State football game, both organizations competed to raise more money than the other. DM fundraised in a variety of fun and school-spirited ways, including a VIP shopping event at Underground Printing, a Beat OSU-themed bar night, and a bucketing blowout. DM raised over $11,000 during Dollar Duel week to beat the Buckeyes for a 2nd straight year!

Pajama Party The annual pajama party is a favorite for both dancers and families, and it was a hit once again. Everyone came dressed in their best pajamas, ready for an afternoon of fun and games. As the second family event of the year, the PJ party allowed dancers and families to bond while playing games and making crafts.

Special activities at this year’s event included sleeping bag races, 3-D Twister, and a special performance by Gordo the Magician that left everyone amazed!

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Events Skate Night In December, dancers took a break from studying for finals to skate at Yost Ice Arena. This “ugly sweater”-themed event let dancers socialize, fundraise, listen to great music, and even get a little exercise before school let out for 2009! The first skate night was such a success that a second was deemed absolutely necessary!

Bar Nights The annual pajama party is a favorite for both dancers and families, and it was a hit once again.

Everyone came dressed in their best pajamas, ready for an afternoon of fun and games. As the second family event of the year, the PJ party allowed dancers and families to bond while playing games and making crafts. Special activities at this year’s event included sleeping bag races, 3-D Twister, and a special performance by Gordo the Magician that left everyone amazed!

Gala This year the Hospitality committee hosted the first ever DMUM Gala: A Night to Remember.

Community members spanning across the state of Michigan came out the Ann Arbor Cobblestone Farm to enjoy a night of great live music, food catered by Ann Arbor restaurants, and a silent auction boasting items such as signed footballs

by Michigan athletics and the flag from the Union.

The night was a success through and through: not only did everybody have a great time, thousands of dollars were raised for DMUM in the process.

Charity Ball Charity Ball is a classic and favorite event of the year and it was held in the beautifully decorated Union Ballroom. Kids had the chance to dress up in suits and dresses and dance to great music with their teams and families. Dancers had a blast showing off their own moves with friends and their teams. Everyone was in good spirits and the music never stopped, not to mention everybody looked red carpet worthy!

Winter Event

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This year’s winter event theme was Dr. Suess. Activities ranged from Red Fish Blue Fishing, crafts, and karaoke! The children were able to play games, do crafts, and listen to a great performance by The Friars. Through these activities the children were able to connect and form relationships with the members of their team at the last event before that little thing called the Marathon!

Sponsors Hospitality Sponsors

Corporate Sponsors

Thank Absopure Water Company Arbor Springs Ben and Jerry’s Big Ten Burrito Bizzy Lizzy Coca-cola Domino’s Pizza Sava’s Schakolad Temptations Indian Cuisine Union Services Vitamin Water Weber’s Inn Beaumont Hospital Cookies Royal Banana Company

Miceli & Oldfield Interstate Distributers Bubble Island

Max and Erma’s Holiday’s Rod’s Diner Great Harvest Bread Co Ashley’s Tios Bagel Fragel Afternoon Delight Northside Grill Mongolian BBQ Jimmy Johns Subway - Union Izzy’s Hoagie Shop Eden Organic Zoup Guy’s Better Made Jazzy Veggie Chipotle Noodles American Aqua Quality 16 Trader Joe’s Busch’s Hillel Ali-Baba Metzger’s Bar Louie Subway- Plymouth Hillers CostCo Decadent Delight

Ally Dow Chemical UMCU STA Apple UM Computer Showcase Alumni Association Seventeen Magazine

you

Diamond

Southwestern

Busy Body Student Laundry

Gold

Silver

Diamond

Bronze

David Rosen Photography Acupuncture Center of Ann Arbor RussaYog Yoga Michigan Theater Pure Barre Ann Arbor Limousine Company Compuware

Gold Silver

Bronze

Event Management Sponsors: Delux Tent and Events Pro A/V Productions UofM Athletic Department Frisbie Moving Red Cross - Washtenaw County Chapter Huron Valley Ambulance UofM Transportation Lowe’s

Thank you

Maize

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Bagel Fragel

Izzy’s Hoagie Shop

Hillel

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Royal Banana Co.

Miceli & Oldfield Ali Baba

Rod’s Diner

Northside Grill

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Special Messages Alex Madda

David Meza

Hannah Tuttle

Dance your heart out, Alex Madda! Go Blue!

Love, Mom and Dad

Dear David, We wish you the best during Dance Marathon.

Have fun! Love, Mom, Dad, Liz, Terry, and Emily

Hannah, we are so proud of you!

Keep dancing and smiling! You rock! We love you! Mom, Dad, Mitch, Harry, and the Burke’s!

Allison Budd

Emily Cieslik

Hosea Cunningham

Allison Budd, Colleen, Zander, mom and dad are proud of your accomplishments. You will go far! Your home boys love you too, Charlie, Steven, Andy.

RCB, language! My language is english and this fool just tried to grab my hangdown. lol. Make me proud. xoxo J

Thank you Hosea. Hope the dance is a success. Be strong and good luck!

From, Dad

Catelyn VanDerKolk

Emily Fogelsonger

Jakob Hoellerbauer

What a great cause! So excited you are making a difference in Alyssa’s life! We are so proud of you! LOVE YOU MOM & DAD

Emily, I can’t describe how proud of you I am! You are making a difference in the lives of so many children. I love you!!

-Mom

Hey Jakob- We are so proud of you! Good luck with all of your endeavors!

Love, Mom, Dad, Clara, Pia and Simon

Courtney Ramus

Emily Richards

Jessica Fryer

Courtney Ramus We are proud of you. Bridget and Jimmy are lucky to have you in their corner supporting them!! Stay strong.

Love, Mom & Dad

We love you Em!! Keep Dancing for such a great cause. MAJOR pedicure for you when you come home. You continue to make us proud! Love, Mom & Dad

Congratulations for being a part of this!! We’re SO proud of you!!

You know you can do this- Just keep dancing!!

Love, Mom, Dad, Hope

Daniel Camilleri

Emma Stevens

Kelly Paulisin

We are proud of your effort & success in raising money to help children and their families! Love, Mom, Dad, Jen, Danny, Mike & Champ

Congratulations Emma! There would not be a Dance Marathon without you. Thanks for all your hard work on such a worthy cause. Love you, AMA and UC

Kelly, you always make us proud.

Congratulations on a successful Dance Marathon and future as a nurse. Love, Mom, Dad, Mike, Joey, and Figgie

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Special Messages Kristin Winn

Melissa Trebil

Sarah J Lewis-Crow

Hi Buddy-O, We are all so proud of you. For giving your time and talent to such a good cause. You can do it. DANCE

Melissa, DANCE as if no one is watching! Our love is all around you. We are so proud of you.

Love, Mom and Dad

And here I am congratulating you for staying up all night long!!!! Go Blue!!

Lindsey VanLierop

Michael Nevitt

Shannon Pomeroy

We are so proud of the time and love that you have put into everything. You have touched so many lives. Love, Mom, Bobby, Darby & Bella

Michael, For all of the wonderful things you’ve accomplished, for all of the goals you’ve met, you have made me very proud.

Love, Grandma B.

We are proud of you for making such a great effort to help others.

Have a super Dance Marathon!

Love, Mom and Dad

Megan Ellias

Nathan Jacobs

Stephanie Benjamin

You should be so proud of yourself for helping others have a magical day and helping make their dreams come true! We love you.

We are so proud of your dedication to help children with disabilities and their families.

Love you forever, Mom and Christy

We are very proud to support you in fundraising for this worthy cause! Have fun!!!

Love, Mom & Dad

Meghan Thorndike

Nicole McIntyre

Taylor Schweitzer

Congratulations!! We are so proud of your commitment to the DMUM families. Go Blue & Go Meghan! Love, Mom, Dad & Erin

Great dancers are not great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.

I’m so proud of you Nik Nik. Love MOM

We are so proud of you for standing up for all the important things in life! much love from all of us.. mom,dad,Dana and the boys

Melissa Learman

Rebecca Schweyen

Yixuan Ma

You are the sunshine of my life.

Thanks for sharing your light and warmth with God’s children. I’m proud of you always!

Love Dad

She said she was going to Michigan and when she got there, she said she’d dance. She did. And so did our hearts!

Our world is full of love and care because of your dedication to children with disabilities.

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Dance Marathon would like to recognize the outstanding support of our hospital coordinators Becky McVey and Sarah Hickey from Motts Children’s Hospital and Therese Scarpace from Beaumont Hospital.

Thank You! Thank you to Bud Gibson and his students at Eastern Michigan University.

RJ Rivard for your hard work on the “Truth or Dare” video this summer!

Big thank you to Erica McTurk and Angela Chih for their hard work on designs throughout the year.

Matt Darby, the man behind the turntables.

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Special

Thank you

My Marathon Moment...

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Š 2011 DMUM Marketing & Recruitment Committee Angela H. Chih Design