On Saturday, March 22, McLean’s McDance-a-Thon club assembled in the lower gym for their annual seven-hour dance marathon, the final fundraising event for Children’s National Hospital. All the smaller fundraisers throughout the year lead up to this dance, which is the club’s main focus and raises the most money. The theme this year was “Rise Together,” as the club works together to raise awareness about childhood illness and fight for the kids at Children’s National Hospital.
“I think this year’s dance was a huge success and that all of our execs did a really good job organizing the dance,” junior Ona Shaughnessy said. “We got a lot of people to come out, and it was really fun.”
McLean’s McDance-a-Thon has had a tremendous impact on Children’s National, and a key aspect of the dance is to stand for all seven hours in solidarity with anyone who has been impacted by childhood illness.
“We had a lot of good fundraisers this year, like our bake sales and our car washes, and everyone pitched in to a successful ending,” Shaughnessy said. “I love McDance-a-Thon because I want to help, be there for the kids and help raise money for a good cause.”
The club executives kicked off the event with the opening ceremony, where they spoke about the history of the Miracle Network Dance Marathon, which helps raise funds supporting critical-life saving treatments, healthcare services, research, medical equipment and financial assistance to over 10 million kids annually. McLean’s McDance-a-Thon is a part of this network, which donates specifically to Children’s National Hospital.
“We did a lot more smaller fundraisers throughout the year, and we tried some new things,” club sponsor Bridget Donoghue said. “[They] were successful, and I think it will help us branch out next year.”
McLean’s hospital advisor, Emma Kolsky spoke about McDance-a-Thon’s positive impact, and Gavin and Wendy Lindberg, founders of the EVAN Foundation, spoke about their support for pediatric cancer research and young cancer patients.
Throughout the dance, club members ran events such as limbo, corn-hole, hula hoops and spike ball. The club also created a Dare Wall, where members can donate to dare a friend to complete an embarrassing task. They also organized a bracelet making station, where different color beads represented different parts of this year’s McDance-a-Thon fundraising year.
For a few hours, there were special events such as the Art in Motion Cheerleading performance, Squid Games, Carousel Game, Musical Chairs, Just Dance and Karaoke. The club also played a number of videos about the specific experiences of some of Children’s National’s Miracle Kids.
“My favorite part was Just Dance because we got to do it with everyone, and it was super fun to watch the videos,” junior Karah Johnson said. “I also really liked Karaoke because it was really fun to watch and to sing.”
Every couple of hours, junior Paige Bender and senior Talia Russo taught parts of the Morale Dance, which was performed to Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams’s “Get Lucky.” At the end of the event, the club performed the entire dance in unity, showing support for the Miracle Kids.
Throughout the night, the club also hosted raffles, with a certain donation amount as the entry ticket. Members could win free classes at CycleBar, a Starbucks gift card and even two tickets to a Washington Capitals game of their choice.
As the dance came to an end, the club executives spoke about how donations support Children’s National’s Fund for Every Child and about the impact McLean’s McDance-a-Thon has had over the years. At the end of the night, the club forms a circle of hope, and reveals the amount raised throughout the year for Children’s National Hospital. This year, the club raised $43,251.01, and members are proud of the miracles they helped make.
“I think the dance went pretty well,” Donoghue said. “We raised a lot of money this year, and all of it goes to a good cause. I hope we have more people join next year after seeing how fun it was. My favorite part of every dance marathon is the reveal at the end.”
