McDance-a-Thon exceeds fundraising goal

$61,986.99

For The Kids

McDance-a-Thon exceeds fundraising goal at virtual dance

GIANNA RUSSO SPORTS EDITOR

CHRISTIANA KETEMA FEATURES EDITOR T he McDance-a-Thon club held a virtual events and challenges dance through Instagram, Facebook and were going to take place Twitter on May 16 to finish fundraising for at specific times, along Children’s National Hospital. with pre-recorded videos

After the annual McDance-a-Thon event of members saying why was canceled, the execs, heads and club they dance. sponsor had to work together to find new “They adjusted in a good way—they ways to raise money and give members a figured out how to promote the event online chance to celebrate all the hard work they did and since they already had an Instagram throughout the year. account for McDance-a-Thon, it was really

“We were originally hesitant to do a virtual easy for people to join,” said sophomore event, but once school closed we were all on Einmon Tha, a member of the morale board with a virtual dance marathon. We committee. wanted to be able to celebrate all that we’ve One of the biggest parts of the dance is done for the kids at Children’s National, and the morale dance that is usually taught in we want to raise as much money as we can parts at the in-person event. At the virtual to help them,” said English teacher Bridget dance, a head and member of the morale Donoghue, the sponsor of McDance-acommittee went on live every hour to teach a Thon. “This year’s marathon was especially section of this year’s dance to “Starships” by important because all of the money we raise Nicki Minaj. will go to Children’s National’s COVID-19 “Being a part of McDance-a-Thon and Emergency Action Fund, so we’ll be keeping teaching the dance for morale was so fun. vulnerable kids safe from COVID.” It was so nice being able to engage other

The virtual dance mainly took place on the members even during quarantine,” said McDance-a-Thon Instagram page through sophomore Simal Mann, a member of the pre-recorded videos and a series of Instagram morale committee. Lives. McDance-a-Thon leaders took turns Fundraising events took place every hour posting videos explaining what fundraising 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

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.”