Wherever We Go

Written By: Hope Hathcock

Summer break is a time to refresh. To look forward to the future. Without a second thought, we make plans, not recognizing that the ability to map out our upcoming days is a blessing. The opportunity to relax is a luxury we often take for granted. While we are learning at an internship, tanning at the beach or hiking a mountain, there are still countless children in Shands Children’s Hospital who need medical treatment — and need it now.

Leukemia does not pause for the pool.

Heart defects do not halt for a trip to the city.

Mitochondrial disease does not stop for going home to your loved ones.

#WhereverWeGo this summer, we must pack our passion with us because Dance Marathon at the University of Florida is a part of all of us, and illness never takes a vacation.

Families need our help year-round, not just when we feel motivated by our classes or by our peers. We, the students at UF, define Dance Marathon. Every single member makes up the heart of this organization. Thus, we have the power to share our mission with others. We can use these weeks as an opportunity to introduce people to DM who would not normally have exposure to our cause while we are away at college. We do not need to be in Gainesville or be at the Main Event or be working during Transform Today to change lives and to make a difference for the patients fighting their hardest every day at Shands.

As Captains, Dancers, Managers and Overalls become alumni, the memories of Miracle Children stay with them, Wherever They Go.

Wherever You Go this summer, keep these boys and girls’ battles in your mind.

Wherever We Go, from Gainesville, throughout Florida, across the country and beyond, we must keep the handprints of the children at Shands on our hearts, for if not for us, who else?