"It's an amazing thing -- I can't believe people would stay up all night to do this for kids and their families," said Zoe Padron, whose son Iggy will benefit from funds raised by the 24-hour Dance Marathon, held last Friday and Saturday in Memorial Gymnasium.
Padron, whose son, Iggy, will benefit from funds raised by DM, was only one of the many astonished parents who came for the last few hours of the event. A core group of about 100 students participated in the entire 24-hour marathon, aimed at supporting the Children's Miracle Network and the University's Children's Medical Center. The majority of the funds raised will go to the University hospital's neonatal intensive care unit.
For volunteers like first-year College student Mary Talbert, who had been in Mem Gym since the start of the event, watching Iggy dance around while playing his air guitar made the entire 24 hours worthwhile.
"I didn't think the kids we heard about would be here, but seeing them now is really rewarding," Talbert said as she stood by the soda machine refilling her caffeinated Pepsi.
The emotionally charged, physically drained environment during the final hours of DM was a stark contrast to the party atmosphere at the strike of midnight the night before. More than 600 people attended the open hours held from 10 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday, making DM look more like a celebration than a fundraiser.
Each hour was themed with variations of music and shows from MTV, such as "The Real World" and "The Newlyweds." Aerosmith and Run DMC's "Walk This Way" rang in each hour, marking the change in time and theme, as volunteers performed a special line dance to go along with the hourly transition.
"Every hour there is a theme with music that corresponds to that theme," DM chair and third-year College student Courtney Cherry said. "We were hoping that this change every hour would help keep people energized."
Clearly, the strategy worked. Groups poured through the doors and some were even dressed in costumes, such as a group of 20 or so dressed as devils claiming to be members of the "IMP" society. Even University celebrities such as basketball player Todd Billet showed up as well.
As the night wore on, sleep-deprived volunteers sought out ways to keep up their enthusiasm.
"There are groups here that are really hardcore about staying up all night," Talbert said. "I've heard of a couple people who slept for maybe an hour, but at this point that's really not that much."
When Saturday afternoon came, the dancers were exhausted, but their spirits were still high. Many volunteers said they looked forward to family hours, when the kids and their families come to join in the festivities.
Fourth-year College student Jason Vance said that he loves it when the kids come because they are the reason for the entire event.
"Staying awake is a kind of drug," Vance said. "When the kids come, you're emotional and exhausted."
The emotional award of interacting with the children at the end of the marathon helps the volunteers cope with the tiring task of cleaning up after the event.
"It's tough because you're dead tired.[Last year's clean-up] was over two hours," Vance said, pointing out that volunteers were involved in a much longer process than just 24 hours of dancing. This year, however, the cleaning process was expedited by 175 IFC members.
Students were not the only ones emotionally affected by their experience with DM, however. Many families impacted by its contributions saw the event as a great opportunity to give thanks and start to get involved on their own.
As his daughter Alexandra rolled around with other children in a large multicolored parachute spread out in the middle of the gym, Rick Perrault explained his motivation for attending DM.
Alexandra "was a premature born in 26 weeks and was in the NICU for about 100 days," he said. "It's been three years now, and her vocal cords have some minor problems, but as you can see, she is doing very well. We wanted to get involved, and when we heard about this program, we saw it as a way to give back to the NICU...so we've been coming for about three years now."
Padron said she and Iggy come every year and have formed relationships with many DM participants. She said she has received several offers from students to baby-sit Iggy, as well as personal e-mails.
Perrault and Padron were just two of many non-U.Va. participants involved in the event, as the DM committee aims at reaching out to all areas of the Charlottesville community.
Only about half of the funds raised through DM come from the event itself, said Cherry. She and all other DM committee members labor throughout the year to work with Charlottesville businesses in an effort to raise money for the DM program.
"We raised about $116,000 last year," said Cherry, as the local band Chaser voluntarily performed in the background. "The kids need more than what insurance will cover, such as games, books and education devices. These emotional services are what we are really all about."
Cherry said that in addition to providing these emotional services, a majority of funds raised this year are going toward NICU renovations.
Although committee members cannot yet predict a final tally of funds raised, they are projecting that this year's amount will far exceed lastyear's. More money is expected to be raised within the next few weeks through a black-tie charity ball and a Saint Anne's mini-dance marathon, two other events planned by the DM committee.
All of the numbers aside, the best attributes of Dance Marathon are reflected by the smiles on the faces of the children who attend.
Iggy explained his favorite parts of the marathon, "I love the scavenger hunt and the all the good music and the songs that we know."
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