The holiday season is one of the most anticipated and exciting times of the year. While we all grow up celebrating our favorite traditions and spending time with family, each year, children spend their holidays less traditionally at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital, surrounded by doctors, machines, and monitors. As we enter the month of December, the students of Dance Marathon at UF strive to continue to #FightForMore through our Season of Miracles campaign. While we all have the opportunity to step away from campus during winter break, together, we continue to raise funds and awareness for our Miracle Children and Families, reminding them of our support and dedication to our cause.
Dance Marathon at the University of Florida is the largest student-run and highest fundraising philanthropy in the Southeast United States. Our mission is to strive to bring together the campus and community to raise funds and awareness for our local Children's Miracle Network Hospital, UF Health Shands Children's Hospital. We are going into our 30th year of Dance Marathon at UF, having fundraised over $30,000,000 thus far. This past year, we celebrated our 29th year by raising a historic $2,007,079.05!
30 years ago, it was the resilience, the drive, the fight, in a group of students with a dedicated purpose, that has long since inspired thousands of members, partners, and donors to continue our battle. #FightForMore encapsulates our determination to carry on the legacy of DM at UF and all those who came before us. Our Miracle Children and Families are all fighting illnesses they did not choose to fight. They never stop fighting, so neither should we. We all have the ability to fight; to create a world where children facing pediatric illness are not defined by their conditions, but rather their courage and determination to #FightForMore.
DM at UF is one of the five founding Dance Marathon programs in the nation. Since our start, we have raised more than $30 million for the Miracle Families UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital, our local Children’s Miracle Network hospital.
Ranked one of the top 50 pediatric hospitals in the nation in seven categories, UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital and Children’s Miracle Network have created one of the greatest facilities of care for children and young adults.
Take a moment to meet the heart and soul of our movement. Our Miracle Families are the inspiration for every student who is part of DM at UF.