UDance steps up
UD dance marathon tops $450,000 for children with cancer
8:33 a.m., March 13, 2012--University of Delaware students and community members united on Sunday, March 11, to raise more than $450,000 for children battling pediatric cancers as the annual UDance marathon was held from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Delaware Field House.
All donations benefit the B+ Foundation, which provides financial support for families of critically ill children and sponsors research to find cures for pediatric cancers and advancements in chemotherapy.
Campus Stories
From graduates, faculty
Doctoral hooding
More than 2,500 students and community members participated in the 12-hour dance marathon. Notable participants who spoke during the event included UD head football coach K.C. Keeler, Gov. Jack Markell and B+ Foundation founder Joe McDonough. The UD women's varsity basketball team, which had defeated Drexel University to become Colonial Athletic Association champions earlier that afternoon in Upper Marlboro, Md., also made a surprise appearance.
The B+ Heroes Ceremony, which honors children who have been diagnosed with cancer and have been "adopted" by larger UD student organizations, was an especially emotional moment during the event.
Sixteen-year-old Miranda Ram-Nolte, Sigma Kappa sorority's B+ hero, left Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington where she had been receiving chemotherapy treatment that day, in order to attend the ceremony.
The moment was also special for UDance chair and senior Ali McDonough, whose brother Andrew McDonough passed away at age 14 due to leukemia complications. His death inspired the McDonough family to start the B+ Foundation in 2007.
When the grand total of money raised during the 2012 UDance event was shown on stage at the end of the marathon, students were ecstatic to learn their year-long efforts had raised $455,982.16. The grand total exceeded the cumulative amount UDance had raised over the past four years.
About UDance
UDance is the University of Delaware's largest undergraduate student-run philanthropy and is a yearlong effort dedicated to increasing awareness and support for childhood cancer. The philanthropy culminates each year in March with a 12-hour dance marathon.
All funds raised benefit the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, which provides funds for childhood cancer research and financially supports families affected by the disease.
Photos by Lane McLaughlin