UK Dances Blue March 6-7
The UK Center for Community Outreach will host the 4th annual DanceBlue dance marathon from 7 p.m. Friday, March 6, through 7 p.m. Saturday, March 7. Approximately 600 dancers will pack UK's Memorial Coliseum and stay on their feet (and dance!) for 24 hours.
DanceBlue, the 24-hour, no sitting, no sleeping dance marathon benefits the Golden Matrix Fund, which was created to help raise funds for the University of Kentucky's Pediatric Oncology Clinic. DanceBlue began on campus in the spring of 2006, and in the past three years, hundreds of UK students, faculty and staff, along with the help of the Lexington community, have raised over $788,000 with the help of friends and family throughout the state. Last year alone nearly $425,000 was raised, setting a record for the event.
With its unprecedented growth, DanceBlue has become one of the fastest growing dance marathons in the nation.
The student leaders involved with creating and planning DanceBlue are at it again this year, involving more students, faculty and staff than ever before to increase the total fundraising for the Pediatric Oncology Clinic. On average, one new child is diagnosed with cancer every week at the clinic. The money raised through DanceBlue helps patients receive better care and support, while enhancing the lives of children and their families suffering from childhood cancer. It is also supporting a late-effects clinic that helps screen survivors of childhood cancer throughout their lives to detect early signs of problems due to their cancer treatments as a child. The funds are also going directly to pediatric cancer research initiatives that are helping to find a cure. Approximately 48 percent of the families the clinic treats are from Fayette County and the six counties surrounding Lexington, and 47 percent of the families are from 49 other counties that make up Central and Eastern Kentucky.
Student organizers invite the campus and Lexington community to come to Memorial Coliseum to support the dancers, teams, and patients during DanceBlue weekend. The stands are open to the public throughout the duration of the event. Perhaps the most meaningful portion of the marathon is from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 7. During these hours there will be a family talent show, young cancer patients with their families and physicians from the clinic speaking, a memorial video, and the grand finale with the total fundraising amount revealed.
Anyone interested in donating to DanceBlue and the UK Pediatric Oncology Clinic is encouraged to do so by visiting the Web site and clicking the "Give to DanceBlue" secure link. All donations are handled directly through the UK Development Office and are tax deductible.
Click here to watch a video about what makes Dance Blue so special.
