Caroline Keys / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
VOL. 110, NO. 15 l SINCE 1908
MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2018
Dance Marathon’s 20th anniversary brings founders back to Main Event Meghan Crum
@THEGAMECOCK
J u s t t h i s w e e k e n d , U S C ’s Dance Marathon celebrated its 20th anniversary by raising over one million dollars for the Child Life Program at Palmetto Health Ch ildren’s Hospital. The f irst president of Dance Marat hon, Simon Herrmann, ret urned to Dance Marathon for the first time since his graduation in 1999 and witnessed this milestone for the organization. “There was just a little group of us in the downstairs basement office with no phone and no windows, crank ing away late in the night … and it’s grown into this huge organization,” Herrmann said. Herrmann transferred to USC in his third year of college and joined a fraternity. After meeting with an executive in Greek life, Carl Ethan Lam / THE DAILY GAMECOCK Johnson, they decided that they First USCDM President Simon Herrmann (left) talks with current heros. were going to make a difference on this campus. geneticist and a doctor for young has become number eight in the He had seen Dance Marathons children, which inspired his son to country for fundraising for a college at other schools, and an injur y want to do good for others. organization. that prevented him from playing “For me to see him have such a “It’s a little surreal,” Herrmann D i v i s i o n 1 s o c c e r p r o m p t e d huge impact on a lot of kids, it was said. “It’s cool that it has grown this H e r r m a n n t o d o s o m e t h i n g also something that I could do to big and is helping out in a way I completely different with his time. help out in a small way,” Herrmann never imagined.” He started working to learn about said. Ca rl Joh n son ex pre s sed t he and do more for others, and worked A rou nd 30 0 st udent s ra ised importance of tradition in the huge w it h Joh n son $55,000 in the event on Saturday. to find a group f i r s t y e a r f or “ We wa nted to st a r t a ne w of i nterested the Children’s tradition that would build on the students. M i r a c l e deep roots of the institution and “We all came N e t w o r k , a grow and thrive like the University toget her t here r e c ord at t he of South Carolina did,” Johnson because we were time for a Dance said. all really wanting Marat hon It’s gratifying for Herrmann to to do something o n a c o l l e g e see how big Dance Marathon has that was outside c a mpu s. T h i s grown and become such a huge part ou r s elve s ,” he year, with the of campus life. said. million dollar “It’s still one of the things that Courtesy of Simon Herrmann H e r r m a n n’s m i l e s t o n e , I’m most proud of.” Simon Herrmann (second from bottom, father was USC’s Da nce right) celebrating in 1999 with his staff. a prenatal Marathon
VOICES OF USCDM “ We’r e j u s t he r e to share our story, a nd to sh a re ou r thanks.” — B re n d a G ree n , parent of Braden, a Miracle Child Hannah Dear /
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Hannah Dear /
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“From that point my entire heart sank into this organization and everything it stood for — f ight ing for kids who can’t fight themselves.” — Josh Fr y, morale team member
Hannah Dear /
THE DAILY GAMECOCK
“The level of passion has really k i nd of d re w me to it a nd made it a lot of f u n to be around.” — Tanne r S ut te r, seco n d - yea r p u bli c health student
“It’s the power of the movement a nd t he power of the students a nd what it mea ns when a university and a c om mu n it y g et s behind you and that nothing is impossible.” — J a x B o u c h e r, USCDM president
Hannah Dear /
THE DAILY GAMECOCK
“ I ’m j u s t r e a l l y passionate about the cause and I love kids and love being able to support something such as this.” — E l a y n e B a u e r, f o u r t h - y e a r international business student
Hannah Dear /
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DM Main Event brought passion, raised record Hannah Dear
@THEGAMECOCK
Caroline Keys / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Jordan Warren / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Corey Zucco / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Joshua Fry has served with Dance Marathon since high school after being diagnosed with cancer eight years ago. “I was going through treatment at the hospital and one of the students from IU who was on their Dance Marathon team ... sat next to me,” said Fry, a fourthyear international business and finance student. “She just kind of pumped me up to explore what Dance Marathon was really about at my own high school in a Mini Marathon.” USC Dance Marathon has been fundraising for Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital Child Life program for 20 years. The program started with 300 students raising $55,000 in the Russell House Ballroom and has grown tremendously since. “I have a personal tie with the hospitals,” third-year electrical engineering student Ken Crawford said. “Someone in my family actually was part of the miracle hospital ... up in New Jersey. So, I actually got pretty passionate about it last year ... just hearing all the families.” Children treated at the local Columbia children’s hospital are brought in to share their stories along with their families. They are called Miracle Children because Palmetto Health is working miracles saving the lives of children every day. “It’s a huge impact on Ellington,” said parent Crystal Hewitt. “Not only just this day a year, but all year. How Dance Marathon really cares for her any time she goes for a procedure ... it’s just something she looks forward to.” While the money does not go directly to families of Miracle Children, it does directly impact them through Child Life. The Child Life program helps children who are dealing with fear and anxiety during their hospital stay among many other things. “We feel a direct impact because Braden has to visit the children’s hospital on a regular basis,” said parent Brenda Green. “The funds that go to Child Life that
helps distract what he’s experiencing while at the hospital — it means a big deal to us. It kind of alleviates some of the stress that he endures.” Child Life is a program in many children’s hospitals across A merica. The program helps make every hospitalization, no matter the duration, more enjoyable and peaceful during times of stress. “We come to share stories that we have from working with the kids to help encourage them to fundraise more,” said Grace Goodwin, a Child Life specialist. “We bring a lot of the tools that we use with the kids to educate them about procedures or different scans.” Hours upon hours are put in behind the scenes in order for Dance Marathon Main Event to take place. Fundraising began during the fall semester when different organizations got involved and students started registering. “I think that no matter what you do ... what you put into it is what you’ll get out of it,” second-year biochemistry student Lenda Thompson said. “Putting your heart and soul into staff is so worth it ... It may seem hard at first and it may seem like a lot of time, but you’ll never regret it and you’ll only regret not doing it.” One part of the Main Event is the Morale Team, which teaches the participants the line dance and gets them excited about the event. This was Crawford’s first time on the Morale Team. He was ready to serve in a new way. “Our biggest thing is sort of hyping up our heroes. Our heroes are our registered participants from other organizations ... individuals wanting to help with this cause,” Crawford said. A major part of the 20th anniversary of USC Dance Marathon was working towards the fundraising goal of $1,000,000. In 2017, $703,289 was raised. “Some people told us this wasn’t possible, that jumping $300,000 was literally insane ... but we knew our campus, we knew that this was the right time,” said Jax Boucher, fourth-year psychology student and president of Dance Marathon. SEEUSCDMPAGE3