Dance Marathon 2014: Why Do You Dance?

Last year, Dance Marathon made a huge splash on the St. Norbert College campus by

raising $21,372 to donate to the local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. The passion and

dedication of both the dancers and the participants at the event was astonishing, but their hard

work didn’t stop after last year’s event was over. Almost immediately, the members of St.

Norbert’s Dance Marathon started putting together this year’s event. The hours of planning,

preparing, and fundraising paid off as the event proved to be a huge success with hundreds of

students participating. In the span of one year, Dance Marathon increased the donations they

received by 62%, earning $34,652 for Children’s Miracle Network. I had the opportunity to

speak with two dedicated Dance Marathon members, Lydia Dorn and Mary Sobczak, about how

Dance Marathon has impacted them and why they choose to dance for 13.1 hours each year.

Both of the women decided to join Dance Marathon when they realized how influential the

organization was. For Entertainment Committee Co-Chair, Lydia Dorn, last year’s Dance

Marathon event “sparked a fire” in her and inspired her to plan future events that would help

benefit Miracle Children. Likewise, Sponsorship & Fundraising Co-Chair, Mary Sobczak, got

involved with the organization early on during her freshman year, saying “I saw what a huge

impact Dance Marathon had on the campus and I wanted to be able to take part in the

movement.”

The passion and dedication these women have for Dance Marathon is undeniable. Ask

either of them about the organization, and they will happily talk to you for hours about the

wonderful experiences they’ve had and the impact they hope to create. When asked why they

choose to dance for 13.1 hours every year at St. Norbert College’s Dance Marathon event, Lydia

explained “I dance for 13.1 hours for all of those children who cannot. I dance for 13.1 hours for

the kids that are fighting and the kids that have lost their fights. I dance for family and friends

who are sick in some way and for those I have lost to cancer or another disease. I dance for the

families who we see every year whose children have been saved by the Children’s Miracle

Network and who are happy and healthy. I dance to see the total fundraising amount revealed at

the end of each event and know that every single dollar will go towards healing, physically and

emotionally, sick kids and their families.”

Mary goes on to share her personal experience with Children’s Miracle Network. “This

cause hits home for me. When I was in middle school I was a miracle child. The Children’s

Miracle Network gave me my life back a few years ago, and now I dance to give back to the

people who gave me so much. Seeing all the young miracle children at the event smiling and

dancing with a bunch of college students is reason enough.”

Before the event took place, Mary’s main job was to fundraise throughout the year and

seek out community sponsors, whereas Lydia’s work mostly involved planning the details of the

actual event and figuring out what programs would be included each hour.

Lydia explained, “Being on the committee and especially the executive board showed me

how much work goes into the actual event. Seeing the event happen and everything play out as

we planned is so validating. Just stopping and looking around and seeing that what we are doing

makes a difference and that everyone’s hard work goes into financially and emotionally

supporting Children’s Miracle Network is amazing.” Originally, the members of St. Norbert’s

Dance Marathon set a $30,000 fundraising goal for themselves. Seeing that goal be not only

reached, but well surpassed was an incredibly meaningful moment for all of the dancers and

participants. Reflecting on this, Mary said, “It brought me to my knees and started another round

of joyful tears. It meant we had done it.”

Although the Dance Marathon members are taking a few weeks to decompress and take a

well deserved break after the success of this year’s event, the group can’t seem to stay still for

long. Elections for next year’s executive board are already just around the corner and future

events and fundraising goals seem to be on everyone’s mind. If you’re interested in learning

more about Dance Marathon, visit the organization’s website. Contact information for St.

Norbert’s chapter of Dance Marathon can also be found by clicking here.