Paraphrased from Public Relations Coordinator for St. Norbert Dance Marathon, Micayla Meyers

On November 11th, St Norbert College Dance Marathon had their 5th Annual “Miracle Day”. They were thrilled to have 200 dancer participants in attendance for the big day! During the 13.1 hour event, their dancers were able to experience different themed hours with crafts and games. Some favorites were Disney Hour that included a lip sync competition and temporary tattoos, and also Power Hour where everyone rocked out to popular music mashups with glow sticks and finger lights!  While all of the events of the day were fun, the most important part of Miracle Day was of course the 14 wonderful Miracle Families who shared their stories of how they have been impacted by the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Dancers got a chance to make bandannas with the names of the families and take pictures with the family after each Family Talk. The families also got to enjoy a special Families Room for them, complete with a ball pit! Additionally, we created a Reflection Room where the dancers could go to read families stories, write notes to Miracle Kids, and engage in some peaceful reflection.

Celebration Hour, sponsored by Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, was the most impactful hour for their dancers that allowed them to connect deeper to the cause and why they dance for the kids. They celebrated their Miracle Families during this hour as they ran on stage across a red carpet and the participants thanked them for all that they do. The participants also had the opportunity to form a circle around a “chain of hope” on which they had written names of Miracle Kids and reasons why they dance. They then took a moment to remember all of the Miracle Kids who fought a hard battle but unfortunately have passed away. This was a very emotional time for everyone as stood as one listening to the song “Angel’s Among Us” and remembered all of the Miracle Kids. Additionally, during Celebration Hour they heard an update on one of their Miracle Kids, Mitch, who was cancer free at their event last year but relapsed this summer. In honor of Mitch they called their dancers to action and challenged everyone to collectively raise $9,400 within the hour in honor of the 94 nights Mitch has spent in the hospital since June. Dancers stood together on one side of the room and made at least 10 calls to family and friends asking directly for donations. This was incredibly inspiring to see the dancers rally around this cause and get excited when they raised $1,000 within the first five minutes of starting these calls and from this moment on during their Miracle Day their fundraising numbers increased dramatically.

Thanks to the help and support of Love’s they exceeded their $70,000 goal with flying colors, raising a grand total of $76,754.05 for Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin – Milwaukee! With Love’s sponsorship of their event, they were able to create a Dance Marathon experience for their participants that was unlike any other. A small campus in the city of De Pere was able to raise enough money to affect the lives of thousands of kids at the Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee. Their organization is small but mighty, and Love’s sponsorship has allowed them to accomplish a goal beyond their wildest dreams.

Freddie Highmore, Chuku Modo, Nicholas Gonzalez and Beau Garrett, cast members of the Good Doctor, visited with Miracle Children at B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver on Extra Life’s Game Day, November 4.

The cast played games while raising funds and awareness for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. They also talked about the importance of children’s hospitals and the impact hospitals have had on their own lives.

Extra Life is a Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals fundraising program within the gaming community. Anyone who loves games – from tabletop, to PC and console – can register to participate at EXTRA-LIFE.ORG. Participants choose the local CMN Hospital they play for and collect donations from family and friends. Donations stay local to benefit the most immediate need at the hospital; from life-saving equipment to patient programs and charitable care.

On August 27th, 31 motorcycles and 51 riders participated in the annual Motorcycle Ride for CMN Hospitals in Battle Creek, Michigan. Hosted by REMAX Perrett Associates, Inc., the event raised $3,470.00 for Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids.

Miracle Child, Keegan Bulk, shared his experience as a cancer survivor and patient of DeVos. “We are always happy to share Keegan’s story and support our partners who give so much back to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals,” said his mother, Jennifer McFarland.

“This is truly a group effort from several of our REMAX Perrett agents who have a heart for CMNH and for fun,” said REMAX Perrett Broker/Owner Lisa Damron. “We figured out a way to merge the two into one great event. We see having a Miracle Child present consistently as a way to really leverage the results of CMNH to drive for more donations.”

Next year’s event will take place Sunday, August 26.

Bruce Dougall, trumpet player and real estate agent for REMAX Kelowna, shared his story about the band dedicated to raising funds for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

“I started the group a few years ago… We have taken it upon ourselves to do our own fundraising concerts without any corporate help or promotion. We do it all. The band is made up of all professional caliber players with impressive musical resumes, who are all full-time REMAX Realtors. We do not take a dime for ourselves, but rather donate 100% of our net proceeds to BC Children’s Hospital, our local CMN Hospitals affiliate. From the very start, we determined that our efforts should be directed towards helping the kids. I am proud of our group. Our sound is stellar and second to none.  I am also very proud of the group’s commitment to ‘giving back.'”

Click here to view the band’s website (and maybe hire them for your next event!?)

THANK YOU, REMAX Rockin’ All Stars!

“Until you love something, you’ll never give everything you have for it. Passion fades. Love only becomes more powerful, regardless of the outcome.” – Benjamin P. Hardy

This year Texas THON made a lot of bold decisions. The one I am most proud of is our decision to embrace love. We spent the year focusing on the love we have for our dancers, our donors, our sponsors, ourselves, and most importantly our kids. As a fourth year member of this organization, I have witnessed an incredible transformation within the culture of Texas THON. I joined this organization and had a very different initial first impression of the Dance Marathon movement than the one I currently hold. I thought I had to wait to make miracles. I thought an executive board title was on the list of requirements to change a child’s life. I thought loving something was not enough.

Thankfully, I was very wrong.

Over my past four years, I have seen miracles come from the most surprising places, and all of those places are centered in love. From the homeless man who always offers the best intersection for bucketing to me, to the miracle maker’s mother who emails me once a week about how thankful she is that her daughter found her home on campus within an organization that benefits the hospital that saved their lives. Every individual I have had the opportunity to interact with through the avenue of Texas THON has taught me more about the how simply loving something can make all the difference.

Love’s Travel Stops & Country stores is another example of one of those surprising miracles. Two years ago we were selected as a beneficiary of the Love’s Dance Marathon grants. That surprise saved us after unfortunate circumstances led to us almost not being able to put on our event. The next year, Love’s decided to expand their grant program and opened it up via application to all of the over 320 Dance Marathon programs. We were fortunate enough to be selected as one of 20 schools who would receive funding, and have been able to embrace this decision to love even further because of it. This gift has allowed us to focus less on keeping our organization afloat, and more on stewarding those who support it. I could go on and on about the difference Love’s has made, but I will let the results do the talking.

We decided to set a goal of $262,000. Representative of the 26.2 miles in a marathon. A few of our Miracle Families have expressed that having a sick or injured child is like running a marathon at a constant sprint. Last year, we were able to raise $175,061.44, and this year we were very afraid of increasing our goal by almost $100,000. At 10 PM, on March 5th, 2017, Texas THON announced that we had raised $282,338.97. We know childhood illness will never stop running, but I have to say I really like the pace Texas THON is racing at.

Thank you Love’s, for allowing us to embrace Love.

For The Kids,

Natalie Weston, Texas THON President 2017

Paraphrased from Jordan Smicklas/Executive Chairman, Soonerthon at the University of Oklahoma

During Soonerthon, our participants learned dances with our morale team, watched a Talent Show put on by our miracle children, celebrated our kids in a spirit tunnel, attended and put on a carnival for our kids, played sports with miracle families and danced at a rave with them for an hour before our total reveal at 10pm. The miracle families shared their stories, spent time with college students, cheered their children on in the talent show and walked down the spirit tunnel as their kids were celebrated by over 3,000 students.

Our program is unique because as OU’s largest student led philanthropy, we have an incredible opportunity to bring over 3,000 students together for a cause that directly benefits our community. Being only thirty minutes away from the Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center, we are so lucky to be able to form bonds with miracle children and stay involved in their lives everyday rather than just at Soonerthon.

Love’s Travel Stops sponsored Soonerthon’s efforts to raise funds and awareness for the Children’s Hospital Foundation. This resulted in $808,021.17 raised for local children! Thanks Love’s for all your support.