MINI DANCE MARATHON An Annual Tradition Where Miracles Are Made By Allison Reynolds ‘01 On a Saturday night, there are many different places you can find high school students. Some may be at the mall, a sporting event, a party, a movie, or just relaxing staring at their phones. However, every March since 2013, there is one Saturday night where you will find dozens of MCC Hustlers participating in an experience that makes miracles happen. MCC Mini Dance Marathon is an annual event planned, coordinated, and attended by MCC students to raise money for Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, namely Arnold Palmer Hospital. This fundraising effort is, as we say, “for the kids”.
A LITTLE HISTORY
In the fall of 2012, I was serving as Student Activities Director at Melbourne Central Catholic. I was contacted by one of my first students, Valerie Cacciatore ‘09, who was a senior at the University of Central Florida. She shared with me her passion for Knight-Thon, a fundraising effort by students at UCF benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN). She was serving as the organization’s finance director and wanted to see if MCC students would be interested in hosting a “mini” dance marathon. At the university level, students stand for twenty-plus hours at the culmination of nearly a year’s worth of seeking donations to help sick children and their families receive the life-saving care offered by hospitals like Arnold Palmer. She suggested that at the high school level, students would “stand for the kids who can’t” for less time but could still make a big impact. I shared Valerie’s vision for a small-scale version of KnightThon with several MCC Hustlers who immediately wanted to be involved. This event would come to be known as MCC Mini Dance Marathon (MCCMDM). Alex Genna and Lauren Borell of the Class of 2014 were chosen to serve as the Directors of the “Exec Board” comprised of 10-12 other students who would take the lead in planning and organizing the event itself. That first year, we really didn’t have a clue what we were doing. We set our goal at $5000 and went to work securing donations of food, registering dancers (students who would attend the event), hosting smaller fundraisers, and creating a “Morale Dance”. THE EVENT
Each MCCMDM is unique in its own way, however, each one has one goal in mind: encouraging students to stand for the kids who can’t. Leading up to the event, students register to be “dancers” and are motivated to procure donations to earn fundraising incentives and add to the overall total raised. Throughout the night, students may enjoy a variety of activities from being put in “jail” and “pied” in the face to dodgeball tournaments and a bounce house.
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Each hour of the event, the Morale Dance is performed to keep the energy up and is sometimes followed by a Miracle Story from a local Miracle family. These Miracle families are those who have directly benefited from the lifesaving resources that events like MCCMDM helped to fund. They share their story in front of sometimes hundreds of MCC Hustlers to help them understand the difference they are making. THE REVEAL
At the end of each MCCMDM event, dancers are invited to finally take a seat and rest their weary bodies. The Exec Board is brought forward to reveal the total raised for CMN Hospitals. This culminating moment is emotional and powerful. The members of the Exec Board and Morale Team will have poured many hours of effort to help generate the number that will be held up on large posters. Starting the night in 2013, I was nervous about our goal. Since it was the first year, our Exec Board had struggled a bit to find their way. Alex Genna recalls her most memorable moment leading up to that night. “My most memorable moment was making our shirts for the inaugural year! We didn’t have enough money to buy them, and all sponsor money went to our total, so we cut and painted the most special shirts!” These spray-painted shirts shined throughout the night with enthusiasm and excitement. What a glorious moment it was when Alex and her peers held up over $5415. Moving into the second year and beyond, the MCCMDM Exec Board had a much clearer vision of their purpose and how to pursue their goals. Students who had been dancers the year before joined the cause as members of the Exec Board or the Morale Team. Individuals began to take it upon themselves to set their own personal fundraising goals in addition to the larger school-wide goal. Exec Board directors Madison Donovan ‘16 and Anne Laird ‘16 helped lead MCCMDM to new heights. In 2015 and
