$61,986.99 For The Kids
McDance-a-Thon exceeds fundraising goal at virtual dance
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GIANNA RUSSO SPORTS EDITOR CHRISTIANA KETEMA FEATURES EDITOR
he McDance-a-Thon club held a virtual dance through Instagram, Facebook and Twitter on May 16 to finish fundraising for Children’s National Hospital. After the annual McDance-a-Thon event was canceled, the execs, heads and club sponsor had to work together to find new ways to raise money and give members a chance to celebrate all the hard work they did throughout the year. “We were originally hesitant to do a virtual event, but once school closed we were all on board with a virtual dance marathon. We wanted to be able to celebrate all that we’ve done for the kids at Children’s National, and we want to raise as much money as we can to help them,” said English teacher Bridget Donoghue, the sponsor of McDance-aThon. “This year’s marathon was especially important because all of the money we raise will go to Children’s National’s COVID-19 Emergency Action Fund, so we’ll be keeping vulnerable kids safe from COVID.” The virtual dance mainly took place on the McDance-a-Thon Instagram page through pre-recorded videos and a series of Instagram Lives. McDance-a-Thon leaders took turns posting videos explaining what fundraising
events and challenges were going to take place at specific times, along with pre-recorded videos of members saying why they dance. “They adjusted in a good way—they figured out how to promote the event online and since they already had an Instagram account for McDance-a-Thon, it was really easy for people to join,” said sophomore Einmon Tha, a member of the morale committee. One of the biggest parts of the dance is the morale dance that is usually taught in parts at the in-person event. At the virtual dance, a head and member of the morale committee went on live every hour to teach a section of this year’s dance to “Starships” by Nicki Minaj. “Being a part of McDance-a-Thon and teaching the dance for morale was so fun. It was so nice being able to engage other members even during quarantine,” said sophomore Simal Mann, a member of the morale committee. Fundraising events took place every hour during the eight-hour dance. The events included posting a baby picture for every donation received and an alumni challenge where previous execs and members donated. These social media fundraisers played an important part in the success of the dance. “The dance was very successful. The challenges I had feared were not issues during the dance because of how well everything was organized and planned out,” Tha said. One of the most memorable parts of the in-person dance marathon is the midnight reveal of how much money the club raised
Images courtesy of @mcdanceathon Instagram | Graphic & page design by Ariana Elahi
for that year. It is an emotional and exciting experience to see students hold up signs revealing the final total. This year the reveal was done through Instagram Live. “The best part of the virtual dance was the reveal and being able to see how much we all raised,” Tha said. “I was shocked in the best way possible—it was so amazing to see that the numbers grew by so much.” Although students were excited to see the reveal numbers pop up on their screens, showing a final total of $61,986.99, exceeding their fundraising goal wasn’t the only mission the club accomplished. McDance-a-Thon’s leader’s aimed to shift the club’s focus this year and work to form more personal connections with the kids at Children’s National Hospital. Throughout the year McDance-a-Thon members worked on growing their relationship with the hospital and the kids through activities like making Valentine’s Day cards to send to the hospital along with handmade blankets. “This year, we set goals that were unrelated to how much money we raise. Although we set a goal to raise $60,000 this year, we also set a goal to put less emphasis on the monetary goal and more emphasis on why our club exists,” Donoghue said. “We are hoping that more people learn about McDance-a-Thon and our cause this year because we want to emphasize that no matter how much money we raise, it’s all going towards helping the kids and families at Children’s National.” JUNE | NEWS | 1
