All-nighter for charity

By: Lauren Cosca, Staff Writer

For a girl who hates dancing, a 12-hour dance marathon is like pulling teeth. This past Friday, I participated in the 13th annual TigerTHON from 6 p.m.-6 a.m. in SECU arena. Together, all of the participating teams raised over $201 thousand for the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. Being a part of something so rewarding and intense was definitely a brand new challenge for me, but I attempted to come in with a positive attitude.

Arriving at 5:15 p.m., I was already beginning to feel uneasy. I have always been a terrible dancer, and the thought of having to actually stand and dance in front of hundreds of my peers was like an impending doom. I could begin to feel an ache in my feet about 30 minutes in.

Being surrounded by people all in the same situation as you, just trying to make a difference, puts this event in a whole new perspective. It definitely gave me a complete new level of respect for kids at schools like Penn State, who do this for 46 straight hours.

As I lay in bed, after finishing the dance marathon and barely able to feel my legs, I remember the stories of all the children saved by Johns Hopkins and it almost brings tears to my eyes and really makes it all worth it. The event coordinators created several videos throughout the night to show all the participants just the type of kids whose lives they were helping to save.

The goal for this year’s Tigerthon was $250 thousand. Even though we did not get exactly how much we all wanted, the amount that we did raise is going to make such an immense impact on so many children who were not born as fortunate as many of us.

The coordinators kept saying that the kids would love to be with us, and the fact that we get to stand for 12 hours makes us so lucky. I honestly wish that I could have gotten to meet all the over 40 kids that were in the pediatric intensive care unit that night and congratulate them on being a braver person that I will probably ever be in my entire life.

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