By ALYSSA ALFANO
BG Independent Student Contributor
Twenty-four hours of dancing, 120 miles of biking and many months of fundraising all for the benefit of children and families at Mercy Children’s Hospital in Toledo.
Participating students attend monthly meetings, fundraise, and in April, they participate in 24 hours of dancing at Ziggython, three days of biking from Cincinnati to Bowling Green, or 12 hours of gaming to bring the fundraiser to a close.
This year’s Ziggython will be begin Saturday, April 8, at 6 p.m., and continue through April 9 at 6 p.m. i Perry Field House o the Bowling Green State University campus
Nicole Masjlo, a sophomore at BGSU and Morale Captain for Dance Marathon, encourages students interested in Dance Marathon to find out the different ways to get involved and raise money by checking the organization’s social media pages.
As a Morale Captain, Masjlo and the other captains make sure that the different organizations and dancers involved are keeping up with their fundraising. In addition, they help dancers and other participants stay energized and excited throughout the event.
Masjlo says that Dance Marathon works with surrounding high schools to hold mini-marathons where the students can go to have fun, dance, and raise money for the cause.
Dancers are required to raise money for the organization before Ziggython. When they reach a certain monetary goal, participants can earn rewards and incentives such as time to sit, a nap, time to shower and more.
In addition, vendors come and sell promotional items such as t-shirts and headbands to raise money for the cause. Friends of dancers can also come and pay to put their friends in “jail.” These are both fun ways to draw people in and raise money.
Dance Marathon puts a lot of emphasis on their slogan “for the kids.” Much of the proceeds go to children at the hospital who are in need of support. However, there are others that receive support from Dance Marathon.
Some of the money that the organization raises goes towards helping the families of the patients, especially those who have been staying in the hospital with their child. The money helps these families get what they need while dealing with the struggles of their child’s illness, according to Masjlo.
There are a lot of fun activities to keep participants engaged throughout the event. Some of the events that will be included at Ziggython this year are a rave in the early hours of the morning, zumba, performances from accapella groups, and, of course, food to name a few.
Twenty-four hours is a long time to stand and dance, so having fun activities and incentives is a great way to keep people going.
