1 in 10 children in North America are treated at a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital (CMNH) each year, or that this number of children equals to 16,000 patients treated per day, is impressive data, but something that can be forgotten in a matter of minutes. However, spend a few minutes on CMNH’s website, reading the countless stories of children whose lives have been saved, and the concept becomes a lot more personal. Many students last September ran in the annual Race for Every Child 5K in downtown DC alongside children and grown adults who have been treated at a CNMH center, and see the difference the treatment CMNH has provided has made for countless families. Alternatively, stay close to campus, and on Saturday, March 21, you can participate in EagleTHON, the 12-hour dance marathon that raises money for CMNH and is coming to AU’s campus for the first time this year. During this event, teams for various organizations, both on-campus and off, will not sit down, and will continue dancing and participating in various events throughout the night, giving every cent they raise for doing so to CMNH.
AU sophomore Saige Wenik, the co-external director for EagleTHON, was involved in another CMNH dance marathon in high school, and was inspired to get involved with EagleTHON as a result. “EagleTHON is important to me because we often take for granted how fortunate we are,” Wenik said. “Standing for twelve hours is nothing compared to what kids in the hospital face on a daily basis.” EagleTHON will join a network of annual dance marathons for CMNH, which have raised over $62 million nationwide thus far. The overall mission statement is to “dance for those who can’t,” reinforcing the idea that everything done at these events is “for the kids.” “I am so honored to dance for all of the kids,” Wenik said. “ I hope that one day they can dance with us too.”
EagleTHON will be held on March 21 in the Tavern in MGC from 7PM-7AM the next morning. Click here to register for the event, and here to donate to CMNH.