Auburn University Dance Marathon is a year-long fundrasing event benifitting Children’s Miracle Network. February 2, 2012 was Auburn’s first 12-hour Dance Marathon consiting of games and activities all night. So far, AUDM has raised almost 200,000 dollars with plans to raise even more this year. I had the opportunity to talk to Allie Mullen, AUDM’s Director of Morale.
Grade: Junior
Major: Marketing
How did you get started with dance marathon? I first heard about Dance Marathon when I somehow got my hands on a Morale application my freshman year. I didn’t really know what it was all about until I started going to a few meetings. It wasn’t until the day of the event that I fully was able to grasp what the organization was really about and from that day on…I was hooked! I started as a Morale Captain, then an Asstitant Director of Morale and now I am the current Director of Morale.
What exactly is Morale? Morale are the people that keep up the energy. Standing for 12 hours can get exhausting, and sometimes you just need some motivation; that’s what we’re there for. We also help plan the event by planning games, teaching the “linedance” (an 8 minute mix of songs and movie quotes that we teach throughout the event), and much more. Leading up to the event, you will probably see us on the concourse wearing costumes, or making chapter visits. Morale is just one committee of Dance Marathon Staff. We have over 100 members of staff and there is a place for everyone, whether you love making videos, finance, fundraising or design.
What are your responsibilities with being Director of Morale? I’m in charge of 7 Assistant Directors and 35 Morale Captains
What are your plans for Dance Marathon this year? This year, our 3rd annual 12-hour standing event is on February 1, 2014. We hope to have a large amount of Auburn’s campus come out and dance for those who can’t. We already have several teams registered, but we encourage everyone to register and start fundraising! It is the most fun that you will ever have for such an important cause. I’ve been fortunate enough to get to know some of our Miracle Families and our hospital and they are all SO grateful for everything that we do. My personal plans for Morale for this year is to plan an awesome event with great games and theme hours and get as many people to attend the event as possible!
How has Dance Marathon affected your life in a positive way? This organization has personally touched my life in a number of ways. I came to college expecting to fully immerse myself in Greek life, which I have, but I never expected to become so passionate about another organization just as much. I have learned so much about myself though leading not only other Moralers, but also through being an ambassador for the organization on Auburn’s campus. I have made such amazing friendships with great people, laughed, cried, and been truly able to witness miracles. We have been able to get so close with our Miracle Kids and Families. One of them is named Martin, who is 17 years old battling Rhabdomyosarcoma, which is a form of muscle cancer. We all follow him on social media and throughout his chemo treatments, he posts selfies all with a smile on his face and is always tweeting encouraging words. I will forever be in awe and impressed by his fight and positivity, meanwhile I often find myself complaining about a pop quiz or something else stupid like that. So…pretty much…it’s been really great to be so involved in something in college that is so much bigger than myself or bigger than a sorority chapter meeting. The money we raise is saving lives.
Has your major helped with your position? I’m a marketing major and it has actually really been applicable to the work setting because AUDM is pretty much a college run non-profit, and a very successful one, I might add. It’s a couple 100 college kids on staff that put together a 12 hour event with entertainment, sponsors, food, speakers and more. Up until the event, we are constantly marketing our event to campus through social media, word of mouth and posters. We have benefit nights, dancer meetings and have almost doubled our fundraising each year for the past three years.
Do you plan on staying with Dance Marathon after college?
After college, I have no idea where I will end up (just hoping to be employed), but I will always be following AUDM and am so excited to see their growth over the next several years. Hopefully I will get to come back and visit!
If you are interested in registering a team or just learning more about AUDM, visit their official website!