KSU Miracle hosted its annual 12-hour dance marathon on Saturday, March 24, in the Dr. Betty L. Siegel student recreation and activities center, unveiling at the end of the event that, through the past year of fundraising, it had raised $330,514.18 for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
The theme of this year’s event was “CelebraTEN” to commemorate a decade since KSU Miracle was founded. The fundraising goal set by this year’s executive board was $300,000, doubling last year’s goal of $150,000.
Last year the organization raised $215,129, and the midnight reveal of this year’s total left the executive board, its committees and volunteers elated at what they had achieved.
“I felt unworthy of the number,” said KSU senior Igne Zukaraite, executive director of KSU Miracle. “The whole year was an uphill climb, and seeing not only the goal met but the goal exceeded was a wave of emotion and feeling of ‘We did it.’”
KSU Miracle is the largest registered student organization at KSU. This year’s total ended up being 100 times more than the organization’s first year total of $3,300.
“It’s crazy that we raised around $52,000 on just Saturday alone,” said KSU senior Adam Pemberton, KSU Miracle’s external director. “It got to a point leading up to the weekend where I wasn’t sure if we would quite hit the goal, but at the reveal, I was in disbelief. We actually hit it.”
Dance Marathon is a nationwide event involving more than 450 high schools and colleges who raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, according to CHOA’s website.
KSU Miracle has yet to set its fundraising goal for next year, but the proceeds from this year’s event will directly benefit CHOA’s recently-opened Children’s at Town Center Outpatient Care Center.