The University of Connecticut held the 25th annual HuskyTHON dance marathon on Saturday, March 2, which raised a record-breaking $1,736,591.22 for the patients and families at Connecticut Children’s.
HuskyTHON is a year-long fundraising effort that culminates in an 18-hour dance marathon in the Hugh S. Greer Field House from 6 a.m. to midnight. This year, HuskyTHON had a record-breaking number of participants, with over 4,200 students, according to the press release. Students create teams with their organizations to fundraise and spend the day with a Connecticut Children’s patient.
After participants fundraised throughout the year, students spent 18 hours dancing, meeting patients and families, participating in activities and witnessing the grand total reveal at the night’s end.
HuskyTHON is the largest student-run organization at UConn, the largest by participant size Children’s Miracle Network Dance Marathon, the highest fundraising CMNH dance marathon in the Northeast and one of the largest fundraisers for Connecticut Children’s.
“HuskyTHON has an immense impact on the UConn Community, uniting thousands of students under one greater purpose,” the press release said.
Each hour, there was a morale dance where all participants gathered to dance along to the 10-minute choreographed dance led by the management team. Following the dance, there was a miracle child speech, where participants met the patients and families of Connecticut Children’s and listened to their stories.
Other activities throughout the day to keep the participants engaged include sunrise yoga, zumba, and volleyball and dodgeball tournaments. There were performances by Selenite and Wavy McGrady to keep participants dancing and activities, such as Family Feud for the children to participate in.
The UConn men’s basketball team also made an appearance and encouraged all participants to keep raising money.
This year, HuskyTHON used the campaign, “Build the Moment” to unite the UConn community and ‘build the moment’ where everyone can live in a world absent of childhood illness, according to the press release.
The ability to dance alongside these children, whose lives are directly impacted by our mission, is exactly what makes HuskyTHON a unique philanthropy and experience.
HuskyTHON Press Release
“The ability to dance alongside these children, whose lives are directly impacted by our mission, is exactly what makes HuskyTHON a unique philanthropy and experience,” the press release said.
If you are interested in learning more about how to further your HuskyTHON experience next year, there is a steering board information session today at 6:15 p.m. in Student Union 303.
More information can be found at www.huskython.org.
It seems like a lot of money but where is it really going? The CCMC President/CEO received a compensation package of $1,666,820 in 2022. Pretty high for a not-for-profit.