It might seem impossible to raise 199,539.14 dollars for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Raising 3,000 of these dollars on your own may seem even more impossible. But this wasn’t the case for sophomore, Mackenzie Abate who dedicated her entire heart and soul to this year’s HootaThon event.
Upon hearing the news that her youngest brother was diagnosed with Leukemia in February of 2013, Abate and her family had a difficult journey ahead of them. Her brother was initially treated for four months at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) until he had to transfer to a different hospital due to insurance complications. After receiving a bone marrow transplant at another hospital, her brother was cured.
“I believe it is the initial care he received at CHOP that led him to be celebrating his year and a half anniversary cancer free, which is on December 11,” Abate said. “That hospital saved my brother’s life and by default, my family’s. I could never sum up in words how much this hospital has done for me or my family and I feel as though I owe them everything. HootaThon is a small thing that allows me to actually see the difference our organization is making for CHOP.”
The goal of HootaThon, to raise money for children receiving treatment at CHOP, hits to close to home for Abate. Temple University student Gaelen McCartney originally created this event in December of 2012.
“HootaThon is a yearlong effort that raises funds and awareness for the area of greatest need in our local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Our local CMNH is The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and their area of greatest need is the Child Life Department,” Abate shared. “This department of the hospital offers services to the patients and their families, such as art, music, and dog therapy, counseling, and so much more. The only problem is that these services cannot be paid for by insurance, which means that they are funded almost entirely by donations. That is where HootaThon comes in.”
While many people may believe their donations are only benefiting childhood cancer, their donations actually benefit all of the children who are treated at CHOP, regardless of their diagnosis.
Abate explained, “We celebrate our yearlong efforts with a 12 hour Dance Marathon that includes games, food, stories from our ‘Miracle Families’ and Temple students who have been treated at CHOP, and of course, tons of dancing.”
Abate served as the “Dancer Relations Chair” on HootaThon’s executive board. Her job was to reach out to other student organizations and individual students regarding the event.
She also contributed to a type of fundraising called canning, which involves traveling to arenas where major sports teams play, walking around with their cans, and asking for donations. Canning was a crucial step to sharing the importance of their cause with the public. Next year Abate plans on serving the Greek Outreach Chair, which involves her reaching out to numerous Greek organizations.
HootaThon was held at Mitten Hall on November 8th this year.
“There was a single moment at this year’s Dance Marathon that made HootaThon very real to me. We had this makeshift jail set up that we were using to lock random people up, and in order to get out, they had to fundraise. Well, I put myself in jail and kept myself there until I raised my individual fundraising goal of $3,000,” Abate said. “When I did it, they called me on stage and announced it to everyone. After that, one of our ‘miracle kids’ came up to me and gave me a hug. She thanked me for everything that I had done and said she was grateful for me and people like me. In that moment I realized I made a difference.”
Abate said what makes HootaThon rewarding is the fact that they know exactly where the money they are raising is going toward. She is confident that HootaThon is going to continue as a tradition and raise money and awareness for the outstanding hospital we have right here in Philadelphia.
For those interested in getting involved, more information is available on their website. You can also reach out to the HootaThon President, Melynda Link, at hootathon@gmail.com or Abate herself. You can also connect with them through their Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages. Abate also advised to keep an eye out for registration if you are interested in fundraising next year.
“It is also well known that Temple is a very diverse campus,” Abate stated. “It is a rewarding experience to see hundreds of students come together from various clubs and organizations, with varying beliefs and interests, and unite under one cause.”