Anna Brock

ESSAY: ANNA BROCK

ENSWORTH DANCE MARATHON

Growing up in a household surrounded by doctors and nurses, I have always wanted to submerge myself into the hospital community and be as beneficial to my community as I think my family has. Even though I have not wanted to be a doctor, I knew there would be a way I could get involved. When I was a freshman in high school, one of my friends invited me to be on the first team of this fundraiser she was starting for the local hospital. I thought this was perfect! This was my way to get involved. Since then, my team and I have raised over $110,000 for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and we are just getting started.

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is a non-profit institution in Nashville, TN. It is a part of the Children’s Miracle Network which is a network of Children’s Hospitals that does not turn patients away based on their inability to pay. That means they rely on donations and community support to cover the cost of care that is not covered by Medicaid and insurance programs. Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt began with a Vanderbilt University Medical School professor David F. Karzon, M.D. who wanted to create a hospital that would enhance all care and treatments for children in the community. He started little by little to make his dream a reality. He started creating little segments of pediatrics specialties within the hospital, whether it be urology or orthopedics, and eventually accumulated them all together into this one state-of-the-art hospital. He wanted to make sure that the children were receiving only the best care, they were in a safe environment, and the hospital was active and responsive to the community’s needs. The dream has only continued to grow since then. Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt created a mission statement to make sure that they are honoring their founder’s goals and dreams. It goes as follows: “Through the exceptional capabilities and caring spirit of its people, Vanderbilt will lead in improving the healthcare of individuals and communities regionally, nationally and internationally. We will combine our transformative learning programs and compelling discoveries to provide distinctive personalized care” (“Our Mission and History”). This mission statement inspires hospital staff and volunteers to extend their care outside of Nashville. People are adapting every day and the hospital is always researching and discovering ways they can extend these benefits. They need the help of these volunteers and external community projects to help them fund the next generation of medicine. Through my extensive research and prolonged experience with the Medical Center, I wanted to recall all the ways the Children’s Hospital benefits from the donations, and how overall, they not only keep Dr. Karzon’s dream alive, but they save children’s lives.

After all my research and involvement in the developing world for the past year, I truly think the way to get so many donations and support is from having a huge group of people who all believe in your cause. The reason I think this is because 31 years ago, in 1991, the first dance marathon was born at Indiana University. Students rallied to support and raise money in honor of a deceased friend, Ryan White, who died of AIDS

the year before. They raised $10,900.00 the first year, and since then have boomed in donations. In 2019, they raised 4,257,143.23 (“IUDM History”). These astonishing numbers show me that even in a short amount of time, how fast a good-willed event can flourish. In a time like now, amidst a pandemic, this work has only become more essential. Last year, our motto for the year was “Kids Can’t Wait” because even in a tragic and deadly pandemic, these kids still needed our help. Every single day, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals like the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital treat 16,200 kids with trauma, 935 kids with diabetes, 2,128 kids with cancer, 2,329 kids with surgeries, and 925 kids in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals). Those are some big numbers, making the jobs of doctors and nurses in the pandemic even more difficult to manage. Families were already so worried about expenses and then had to deal with strict visiting hours and covid precautions, and that was definitely not easy. Dance marathons are helping with these issues. While they cannot change the strict rules enforced by each unit of the hospital, they can set their goals straight and make the impossible possible. This work can be done through these fundraisers, to make sure there is enough funding to ensure quality care during the pandemic. The Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals know how much the pandemic has tattooed our community in a way that cannot be undone. Leaders of these events reach out to patrons and remind them of all of this, and how additional funding can help with another issue, the staffing shortage. 89% of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals have reported a staffing shortage, indicating that they need this money now more than ever to support our healthcare workers. The pandemic has caused a whole new era of expenses. For example, during the pandemic, hospitals like Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt have had to come up with ways to be able to be in touch with these families even when miles apart. The answer to this and many other problems in this decade is technology. Even with the outstanding capabilities right at your fingertips, they come at a very high cost. With just translation technology, for those who are in need in the non-English speaking populations, a $40 million dollar investment is expected to be needed to meet this demand. That’s crazy, and that is why these hospitals need our help (Hsitz).

Non-profit hospitals like Monroe Carell Jr Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, require community outreach fundraisers like dance marathons to help fund all the essentials: including medical training, research, and facility upgrades to make the experience the best possible for the patients and families. The work they have done is inspiring, not only to those affected but also to the greater community around them (Gee). Dance marathons especially have raised over $300 million dollars for 170 different Children’s Hospitals as a part of the Children’s Miracle Network. The energy and support the dance marathon exudes are what makes it such a powerhouse in the community. People join the dance marathon and get so much inspiration from all the support and unity around them, that they have actually influenced other fundraisers around them. Not only do these dance marathons positively impact the greater community, they also create philanthropic leaders that go to do great things for the community. For example, Molly Coletta, a Syracuse alum, lost a friend to cancer at a young age, which inspired her to the dance marathon at Syracuse. She now says that the dance marathon is all about “changing lives and embrac[ing] the change needed to

do so” (Pactor). The main word I would use to describe dance marathon participants is sympathetic. To be a part of a dance marathon, I have learned through my research that it is essential to be able to listen and help someone who is going through a hard time, even if you can’t relate to it yourself. Another word I would use to describe dance marathons is unity. Even though I am a little biased, since I have been a part of the Ensworth Dance Marathon for four years, I know throughout the whole process and working together, there comes a time when your whole community is unified and together. It’s an obligation. It’s a feeling of pride to fight for the next generation. Raising awareness and resources for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital brings out the best attitudes in not only participants but also constituents. The saying in the dance marathon world has always been “this generation, fighting for the next,” and the ethos and togetherness that statement holds promotes unity within the community. We fight together to support our friends in the hospital who need us. It’s not only the Dance Marathon way, though, as participants also need the patients and families. They will never stop fighting for their lives, encouraging everyone around them to support a cause and make change happen (Vogel).

The stories of these patients are absolutely remarkable. They are also heartbreaking. I have researched many stories, and many have stood out to me. Many are triumphant and shatter the odds of recovery, many don’t. Just as an example, I want to explain the miracle story of Dashiell. He was known as that “angel miracle kid.” Dashiell was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer, known as Hepatoblastoma. After multiple treatments and doctor visits, Dashiell was put on ‘high risk’ and monitored at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. The doctor’s found new tumors, so Dashiell became eligible for a liver transplant. While being monitored, the doctors eventually found more and more nodules that kept requiring removal. Finally, doctors were able to categorize his nodules as an extremely rare Transitional Liver Cell Tumor. It was ultimately confirmed that these nodules the doctors kept finding were cancer all along. Besides losing his hair, Dashiell never endured the harsh side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. At the age of 5 1/2 years old, Dashiell lost his fight against cancer. His tumors were donated to UI Children’s, Cincinnati Children’s, the COG, and SIOPEL for further research. To this day, there have only been two other cases of TLCT. Dashiell’s parents recall his “indomitable spirit” and “pure happiness.” They want to use Dashiell’s story to advocate to find a cure for childhood cancer. They strive for “better treatment options, advancements in higher cure rates, and increased medical research funding” (Our Miracle Kiddos’ Stories). This story is just one of many I have come across as the leader of this event. There is always a story that drives motivation. One of the reasons I think dance marathons are so successful is because people genuinely never want things like what happened to Dashiell to happen again. They are truly fighting for the next generation.

Besides fundraising, there are many ways to help and support your local hospitals and community. Whether you create a whole fundraiser, simply donate a dollar to a campaign, or volunteer your time, all are meaningful in the grand scheme of things. At Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, this is especially true. Each dollar does have value. At the Children’s Hospital, each dollar is divided into six sections. 18% of each dollar goes to charitable care, 12% to research, 15%

to equipment, 7% to education, 23% to advancement services, and 25% to patient services. These “patient services” donations go to kids with cancer, diabetes, and trauma. They also go to surgeries and the NICU. The NICU, as stated previously, stands for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt had the very first NICU in the country, which is another reason why people come from all over the country for this specific hospital and its caregivers. There are multiple specialists who cater to each baby’s needs. There are “pediatric surgeons, neonatology doctors and nurses, pediatric radiologists, respiratory therapists, pediatric pharmacists, nutritionists, lactation specialists, social workers, child life specialists, physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists” all available for the children’s needs. These medical professionals are available 24 hours a day, and 1/3 of the hospitals’ beds are dedicated to the NICU (“Neonatal Intensive Care Unit”). They always put first their ability to treat every child, regardless of their ability to pay. Through my research, I have realized that this is why the hospital needs our help and why our fundraising efforts are crucial. There are also many other fundraisers that work for the kids in the Children’s Hospitals besides dance marathons. For example, the Friends of Children’s Hospital fundraiser has been around since 1971, even before the Children’s Hospital faculty was formed. It started with a group of philanthropic women who came together to raise funds and awareness for the new hospital (“Our Mission and History”). This past summer, I interned with this group of women. They are hardworking and driven towards their goal. They taught me ways to collaborate, speculate, and take action. These are core skills at Ensworth, and it was rewarding overall incredible to be able to learn about these skills we use every day in a completely different light. I learned that a community that is passionate about a cause and fights in unison will always succeed. I learned that time is just as valuable as money to these non-profit hospitals within the Children’s Miracle Network. Most importantly, I learned that even in a pandemic, these kids always need our help.

WORKS CITED Gee, Emily, and Nicole Rapfogel. “How Nonprofit Hospitals Can Support Communities and

Advance Public Health.” Center for American Progress, www.americanprogress.org/article/ nonprofit-hospitals-can-support-communities-advance-public-health/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2022. Hsitz. “Covid-19 - How Dance Marathon Is Helping Children’s Hospitals.” Children’s

Miracle Network Hospitals, 7 July 2021, miraclenetworkdancemarathon. childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org/covid-19-how-dance-marathon-is-helpingchildrens-hospitals/. Accessed 5 Jan. 2022. “IUDM History.” Indiana University Dance Marathon, 2021, www.iudm.org/history. Accessed 10 Feb. 2022. “Miracle Network Dance Marathons.” Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, 2022, dancemarathon.childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2022. “Our Miracle Kiddos’ Stories.” Dance Marathon at Iowa State University, dm.stuorg.iastate. edu/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2022. “Our Mission and History.” Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt

University Medical Center, 2021, www.childrenshospitalvanderbilt.org/information/our-

mission-and-history. Accessed 10 Feb. 2022. Pactor, Andrea. “Dance Marathons: A Fundraising Powerhouse and so Much More.”

Philanthropy Blog Indiana University, Trustees of Indiana University, 23 Dec. 2020, blog. philanthropy.iupui.edu/2020/12/23/dance-marathons-a-fundraising-powerhouse-and-somuch-more/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2022. Vogel, Jenna. “We Fight Together.” University of Iowa Dance Marathon, The University of Iowa, 2020, dancemarathon.uiowa.edu/contact/press/blog/we-fight-together/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2022.

REFLECTION: ANNA BROCK

SERVICE SCHOLAR REFLECTION

I am a horrible dancer, but now I know that dancing saves lives. Over the past year, I have been researching the direct effects donations have on the non-profit Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. This year, I am the co-president of a fundraiser called Ensworth Dance Marathon, raising money for the hospital. In short, a group of students from my high school raised money for a year to help sick and injured children in Nashville. We then have this huge event to commemorate all of the hard work and lives we touched. I wanted to know after my research was complete how much of an impact we have made on the lives of the children being treated.

Throughout my research the one principle that kept coming back to me was unity. I realized that all these fundraisers raising money for the same cause all had the same goal, which is to help those in the community. By sharing patient stories, we are able to connect our constituents with the kids being treated in the hospital currently. To get more knowledge about ways I could not only improve the Ensworth Dance Marathon but also learn more about the donation effects, I interned with the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital development team. The main thing I learned from my time there was that the work they do behind the scenes is crucial to the success of the non-profit hospital, as the Children’s Hospital does not turn any child away due to their ability to pay. Through this summer internship, I helped compile patients’ stories in a manner that would appeal to consumers. I also edited videos and monitored social media platforms. It was such a rewarding experience, and it made me realize that even the little things that they do, like boxing gifts, creating cardstock, and even organizing, are beneficial and are necessary to reach the overall goal. I plan on using the knowledge I gained in the future, as this project has made me crave a future in development. I want to work with non-profits and other organizations that give back. After seeing all the impact our fundraiser has made on the hospital, I now know that I want this same feeling of unity in the future. I want everyone around me to care as much as I do. Not only about fundraising and marketing, but also the next generation. I know I can make a further impact in the future because of the passion that has grown in my heart from my four years on this team. The main thing I learned and plan to carry forward in my future endeavors is that there is always something I can do for my community and always a way to influence my peers to do the same. With this being my last year on the Ensworth Dance Marathon team, I know that everything I learned is more than I could’ve dreamed. In the future, my goal is to not take anything for granted, because you never know when you will have to count on your community for their help.