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Currently in its 32nd year, The Northwestern University Dance Marathon is one of the world's largest student-run philanthropies. As one of the cornerstone traditions of the campus, Dance Marathon , or DM, brings together over 1,000 students, faculty, staff, and administrators in a thirty hour dance-a-thon. Students, serving as either dancers or committee members, fundraise all year to support its beneficiaries, culminating in an all-campus celebration weekend in the beginning of March. In addition to DM weekend, approximately 300 committee members organize special events throughout the entire year, such as basketball tournaments, date auctions, and trivia nights. DM now includes over 500 dancers, each couple raising at least $750 for the honor of dancing, and thousands of student volunteers. In addition, campus a capella groups, dance troupes, and student bands come to perform in various intervals to lend their support to the participants. Before the sunrise on Saturday morning, dancers are treated to a quick shower and foot massage to help reenergize them to finish the day. Beyond the Louis Room, the Dance Marathon Project Planning Committee plans events for the entire Northwestern and nearby communities to enjoy during the weekend. Each year Dance Marathon selects a primary and secondary beneficiary to receive the money collected after months of fundraising and 30 hours of dancing. During Dance Marathon, over 15,000 spectators visit the Norris University Student Center at Northwestern University , where Dance Marathon takes place, to support the dancers and to take part in events such as a kid's carnival and a 5k run. These events are planned to involve community members from Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois and nearby communities in Dance Marathon. This community involvement fulfills DM's mission of uniting the Northwestern University campus and the nearby communities thorough education and philanthropic fund raising. HISTORY More than thirty years ago, Dance Marathon, the philanthropic child of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and the Associated Student Government, was born on the Northwestern University campus. Twenty-one couples danced for DM in 1975. It was called the "Dance to Give Them a Chance" marathon then, and it benefited the American Epilepsy Foundation and the National Association for Retarded Citizens. Fifteen couples made it through the fifty-two hour marathon, raising $9,105 at Blomquist Memorial Gymnasium. The winning couple, Donna Miller and Tony Krileff, was sponsored by Bobb Hall and a local liquor store. DM 1976 saw a new venue as the dancing was moved to Patten Gym and the dancing time was lessened to twenty-six hours. The next year, though, was when DM found its current home: Norris University Center, where students have been dancing for thirty hours at a time ever since. Little amenities to raise extra money for the cause were added over the years, like the DM spa, where manicures and haircuts are given on the first floor of Norris. Other events take place to keep the rest of the campus involved while the dancers are busy, such as a DDR tournament and performances by on-campus groups. Chicago's Second City comedy troupe paid a visit in 1984. Since that time, popular bands and performers have been a highlight of DM weekend. DM has attracted the attention of people like George and Barbara Bush , Frank Sinatra, Jr. , Jeff Probst , Scott Wolf , NU alumnus David Schwimmer , and former NU chemical engineering student Cindy Crawford . Chicago celebrities, like former mayor Jane Byrne and Chicago Bears players Mike Tomczak , Keith Van Horne and Trace Armstrong , have also danced. Beneficiaries Since its inaugural year, DM has raised over $5 million for various charities. In 2007 it raised over $700,000. The Primary Beneficiary for 2007 was Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE). {Link without Title} For the past six years, Dance Marathon has contributed between $25,000 and $30,000 annually, to the Evanston Community Foundation making Northwestern students among the Evanston Community Foundation's five largest donors. In June 2003, Dance Marathon organizers reaffirmed their partnership with the Evanston Community Foundation. They delivered a $301,000 endowment gift to cover tuition assistance for inner city Chicago youth in the college preparatory programs of Midtown Educational Foundation. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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