Written By: Claire Day, Sonny Franks and Meghan Poljak

An entire year’s worth of efforts culminated on Saturday, Feb. 11— the day more than 1,500 University of Alabama students had been waiting for, all with one goal in mind: raising $300,000 For The Kids. The University of Alabama Miracle Network Dance Marathon, or UADM, hosted its sixth annual, 12-hour main event at the Ferguson Student Center. Here, students from across campus came together to stand, dance, and raise money directly benefiting their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, Children’s of Alabama. All of which would not have been possible without the support of Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores.

Saturday morning was like every other morning at UA, except on this Saturday hundreds of students flooded the Ferguson center eager to “stand for those who can’t.” Kicking off the event, UADM’s president, Sarah Urbanski, and Dr. Adam Sterritt, Assistant Vice President for Student Life at UA, welcomed the crowd. “The most important part of today is that none of you forget why we’re here,” said Sterritt. “The Dance Marathon experience is transformative. We are here because of the Miracle Families and children benefitting from this program.”

Looking around the room at the sea of face paint and tutus, it was clear that no one would forget why they were here. The joy and passion shared between students and Miracle Families created an undeniable bond that everyone could feel was bigger than them. It was bigger than the countless hours and sleepless nights put into preparing this event, bigger than the 12 hours of leg cramps and laughter— it was the idea that until every child is cured, they will continue to stand united. 

It was easy to stand united as Miracle Families began each hour by sharing their stories, serving as another reminder of why everyone was there. This year UADM had a total of 12 Miracle Children, including four new Miracle Families, who were attending UADM for the first time. Families took this time to share their heartfelt stories and what UADM means to them, and the kids took this time to show off their talents. Lindsey sang a beautiful rendition of  “Hero” by Mariah Carey. Trace brought his saxophone and performed a duet with a college DM friend and fellow tenor sax, Anthony Lipscomb. The duo gained quick acclaim from their rendition of Iron Man and ESPN’s theme song. Colton adorably celebrated his 6^th birthday on stage by showing off his dance moves to his favorite song, “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae).” Kenzie led everyone in a Roll Tide cheer before she sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

When the Miracle Families weren’t sharing their stories, Miracle Makers were taught the line dance and participated in activities that coincided with the uniquely themed hours. Students broke off into color teams and spent the day together earning points and pushing one another to fundraise. “Love’s the Kids” hour set the tone for the day as the first fundraising push hour. This hour stirred something in Miracle Maker Sierra Hatfield. It began the “Zero to Hero” initiative. Throughout the hours from 11-6 she started with only $1 donated to her in her donor drive and by 4th Quarter hour, she was a top five fundraiser out of all Miracle Makers and UADM staff. This Love’s themed hour motivated Sierra, and so many others, to go out of their comfort zone and start raising money, FTK!

Events upstairs continued with activities such as a Disney lip-sync battle, hot dog eating contest and a throwback dance party. Downstairs the Miracle Children had full access to two bouncy houses. One was a slide previously used for UADM’s annual, “Slide into DM” event, and the other was a Twister board. The halls were filled with posters and pictures of UADM’s accomplishments throughout the year.

“We cannot thank Love’s enough,” said Andrew Reed, director of corporate partnerships for UADM. “Our organization has grown and accomplished goals that surpassed all of our expectations because they took the time to care and support us.”

Taking rivalry off the field and onto the dance floor, UADM brought a long-standing competitor into the mix. The Alabama vs. Auburn fundraising competition hour sparked a competitive fire in both schools’ participants as the two rival universities competed head-to-head to raise the most money during that hour of their respective dance marathons. Soon the totals from the competition were announced. UADM had raised $17, 931.01 and Auburn DM had raised $19,060.83. The two programs celebrated not only their respective accomplishments, but also the mind-blowing $36, 991.84 they had raised FTK together.

As the year’s final total was being calculated, the crowd fist-pumped it’s way into the “Love’s Rave to Save” hour. As glow sticks, goodies and beach balls were thrown above the crowd, UA’s Miracle Makers, staff and Miracle Families danced together for one last hour in celebration of the year’s hard work. 

Finally the time had come. UA students rushed downstairs to the Great Hall amidst chants of “FTK! FTK!” to see exactly how much they had raised this year. Before signs were raised and speeches were given, UADM’s participants joined hands and formed their traditional Circle of Hope around the Miracle Families as a way of remembering why they had had stood one last time. 

UADM Executive board members then took the stage and revealed the year’s final total of $340,001.17. The crowd roared as everyone on stage burst into tears. 
“It was the proudest moment of my life,” said president of UADM, Sarah Urbanski, “… and it never would have been possible without the support of all of our staff, advisers and, of course, Love’s.”

This past year, KGET TV-17 station in Bakersfield, California raised $36,000 for Lauren Small Children’s Center before the phone even rang for their annual Mediathon. This determination and passion has been consistently shown the last 20 years from KGET.

We are pleased to announced KGET TV-17 as the winner of the 2016 TV Station of the Year. The award recognizes an outstanding television station which has demonstrated an extraordinary long-term commitment to their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital or Foundation.

Derek Jeffrey, Vice President / General Manager of KGET TV- 17 accepts the award on behalf of the station.

KGET plays an integral role in the Mediathon, which raises money for the local children’s hospital in Bakersfield. This past year, KGET offered media buys to potential sponsors, showcasing innovation in how to raise funds before the event officially started.

Never expecting anything in return, KGET is fully invested in the cause to help the kids. They go above and beyond to make the Mediathon a success. This consistent effort and drive bring a sense of community, as everyone comes together to fundraise.

Congratulations to KGET!

Although he broadcasts from Los Angeles, Adal “Chikilin” Loreto flies to Oakland for a live broadcast for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital’s Radiothon because he believes in the cause of helping the kids. The Hispanic Radio Person of the Year award honors a Hispanic speaking radio station staff member who has gone above and beyond in their support of their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital or Foundation. As part of #ChildrensHospitalsWeek, we are pleased to present Chikilin as the 2017 Hispanic Radio Person of the Year for his Radiothon in the San Francisco/Oakland area.

Chikilin is loved by all his fans and uses his voice to inspire his listeners to donate.  Not only do people call in to donate, but many come into the radio station and donate. During the period of the Radiothon, Chikilin works all day and all night to inspire his listeners to the cause. He cares about the kids and does everything he can to share his passion.

UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital’s Radiothon, led by Chikilin, raised $351,000 in 2016. We look forward to continuing the passion and drive shown by this Radiothon as we continue raising funds for the kids!

“You Pay, We Play” is the motto that Pay 4 Play Radiothon follows, as they take song recommendations in exchange for donations to the local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital—Penn State Children’s.

We are pleased to present the English Radio Personalities of the Year to the dynamic trio of Nipsey, Jen Shade, and Earl David Reed, who host the People’s Morning Show on WQXA, 105.7 the X in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This year, they are celebrating 10 years hosting the Pay 4 Play Radiothon that has raised $1,214,520 over that time.

During the time of Pay 4 Play, the Nipsey, Jen, and Earl begin the radio show at 5 a.m. on Thursday morning, and they take song recommendations on air through 9 a.m. Friday morning. How the Radiothon works is that a caller must donate money for each song recommendation, and the further a song is from the typical music style of the station, the more the caller must donate.

This trio does not stop with the Radiothon, but once a month they invite Miracle Children, hospital administrators, and community fundraisers to come into the station to talk about Penn State Children’s Hospital. They create lasting relationships with everyone involved in Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and have stayed in touch with Miracle Children through high school graduation. This has created a culture of community within their fundraising efforts and have truly brought a name to Pay 4 Play.

From raising $43,500 in their first Pay 4 Play in 2007, and now having raised $210,320 in 2016, this hard-working trio prove that their creative take on Pennsylvania’s Radiothon is a success.

Nipsey, Jen, and Earl have been recognized numerous times for their zeal and dedication to fundraising on their radio show, and now Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is pleased to recognize them as the 2017 English Radio Persons of the Year. Congratulations!

Miracle Kid Jeremy visited his local Great Clips to make a donation

Our wonderful partners at Great Clips raised a remarkable $768,237 in 2016 to help kids treated at our member hospitals in the United States.

Great Clips salons and stylists sold Miracle Balloons in October and also hosted other fundraising activities such as bake sales and “cut-a-thons.” All the money these salons and stylists raised goes directly to their local CMN hospital. The work they do is part of Great Clips’ Great Deeds® program, where corporate staff, franchisees, and stylists everywhere give back to their local communities.

Please click here for more information. Thank you, Great Clips!

Stylists show off their creative use of the Miracle Balloon at their salon.

Stylists show their support for CMN Hospitals

In their third year of TCUDM the students wanted to make it even bigger by spreading it across campus. They had tabling events where pizza, cookies, and stickers were handed out with “#100KForTay” printed on them. These events helped to spread the word about Dance Marathon and why students dance for Cook Children’s Medical Center. There were benefit nights at local restaurants, which helped to raise even more money and awareness for the kids. The event on February 25th was the best yet. The dancers were so excited to be there and to continue with their fundraising efforts. Bounce houses, DJs, Zumba instructors, yoga teachers, musical performers, and a virtual reality station, filled the Dance Marathon with great entertainment.

The Miracle Families were able to relax in the Kids Corner complete with their own personal bounce house, and the superheroes (Miracle Kids) were given a sidekick and a scavenger hunt to complete throughout their time at the event. These types of activities wouldn’t have been possible without the Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores sponsorship! At the end of the 12 hours, the students announced the total of $90,005.93 For The Kids! This means that throughout their three years as an organization they have raised a little over $147,000 For The Kids and for one of their own, Taylor Helland,  accomplishing their goal of raising #100KforTay. They also broke their in-event fundraising record, as well as became the fastest growing program in the state of Texas. Now that this years Dance Marathon is over these students absolutely cannot wait to make it even bigger and better next year!