University of Cincinnati Students Go The Distance For Young Patients

When University of Cincinnati (UC) students stay up all night dancing the weekend of February 6, it won’t be a typical college dance party. Students will be dancing in the Cincinnati Dance Marathon to benefit Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) and UC cancer programs.

The Cincinnati Dance Marathon is the creation of UC students Alex Hotte, Drew Hamer and Carmen Pescatrice. After learning about the tremendous successes of dance marathons at other universities across the country, they decided to bring one to the University of Cincinnati. Last year’s first marathon drew 156 participants and raised $5,000 for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. This year, organizers are working to get more than 350 participants to help them raise more than $11,000.

Alex Hotte, a UC senior who chairs the marathon, said, “After seeing how successful other dance marathons were, I knew the concept was perfect for UC. The Cincinnati Dance Marathon lets every student have the opportunity of a lifetime, to really give the chance of a lifetime to young patients at Cincinnati Children’s.”

The Cincinnati Dance Marathon will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 6, continuing until the afternoon of  Sunday, Feb. 7.  Several guest families from CCHMC will be attending to give marathon participants an opportunity to meet and talk to the people whose lives they’re touching.

To register or for more information about the Cincinnati Dance Marathon, visit http://www.cincinnatidm.org.