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RUDM 2015 Family Hour connects kids, student dancers

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During conventional running marathons, participants inevitably face "The Wall” as they inch nearer to the finish line. After 27 hours of non-stop dancing, RUDM dancers found motivation to finish what they started in reminder as to why they were participating.

Following more than a full day without sleep or sitting down, dancers enjoyed an hour with kids, along with their parents, to stress the importance of fundraising toward the non-medical needs of cancer survivors and patients, in the midst of the weekend’s festivities at 3 p.m. on Sunday in the Louis Brown Athletic Center on Livingston campus.

After an introduction from Glenn Jenkins, executive director of Embrace Kids Foundation, children and parents alike danced in a procession across the Louis Brown Athletic Center floor.

The hour long celebration’s highlights included dancers, patients and parents dancing in a conga line to popular hits like Icona Pop’s “I Love It” and Rihanna’s “We Found Love,” as well as the entire floor flooding with dancers sharing in a collective “Cupid Shuffle.”

Student dancers have a greater appreciation for the time they spend at Dance Marathon because Family Hour allows them to see their time and effort directly benefiting a local child’s life, said Ema Poni, assistant director of Corporate Relations for RUDM 2015.

Dancers are more likely to put in the extra effort to raise as much money as possible for the Embrace Kids Foundation if they establish personal connections with childhood cancer survivors and patients, something that cannot be matched when recipients of donations are unidentified, Poni said.

“I think it’s kind of meaningless if you’re just fundraising and it goes into space … there’s no face value to it,” she said. “That’s what matters –– (that) the money’s going to someone I have a connection with, as (opposed) to some anonymous child somewhere else.”

Family Hour is the largest and most important event within the 30-hour event because it shows that dancers are meeting the goal of bringing children joy, said Jason Baluarte, assistant director of Fundraising Operations for RUDM 2015.

A School of Environmental and Biological Sciences senior, Baluarte said seeing the smiles on the faces of all the children reinvigorates the dancers’ charitable drive toward the end of Dance Marathon every year.

“What we do for these 30 hours has a great impact on their lives,” he said. “At the end, we’re getting tired as we get (closer) to the numbers. During Family Hour, this is the time we see (that) what we do is paying off … We’re making them happy.”

Along with the opportunity to talk about cats, princesses and princess cats, the best part of Dance Marathon is the fine dining, said Gabriella Flores, Gamma Phi Beta sorority’s 4-year-old Adopt-a-Child.

“I ate ice cream outside,” she said. “I like Candyland here, this (place) is called Candyland … I like dancing and all of the songs, (and) I like all of you.”

Marea Pena, Flores’ mother and a Keasbey, New Jersey resident, said both she and her daughter enjoyed dancing and playing with the dancers during Dance Marathon, as well as being present for Family Hour.

Even though Flores can be a diva, she and the other children are all bundles of sunshine, said Jenna Serritella, a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority and a School of Arts and Sciences junior.

“I love it (and) it’s been fun,” Pena said. “(Gabriela) had so much fun. She’s dancing and (the event) really is so important … She hasn’t (stopped) playing and having fun.”

In addition to the dancing and the music, Family Hour was fun because of the easy access to beach balls and food, particularly cookies, for the families afterward, said Nico McLaughlin, the Student Athletic Advisory Committee's 3-year-old adopt-a-child.

Karen McLaughlin, Nico's mother and a Robbinsville, New Jersey resident, said Dance Marathon was a lot to handle as a first-time attendee, but was definitely fun to be a part of.

"It was a little overwhelming at first, because you can't believe all of these people are doing (this) for your family," she said. "(Family Hour) was very fun ... You could feel the energy coming from (the dancers)."

Family Hour provides motivation to push through the final two hours of Dance Marathon with a similar sense of pride the dancers came in with at 12 p.m. on Saturday when it all started, Baluarte said.

“I personally feel like it’s the best part,” he said. “It’s getting a bit harder (toward) the end and we’re all tired, but when Family Hour comes, everyone gets excited again. It has the same energy from the beginning … We can make that final stretch.”

While many Rutgers students look forward to Dance Marathon to enjoy 30 hours of charitable grooving, it is important that participants remember what their money is going toward and whom their efforts are benefiting, Poni said.

“If you looked at (the dancers), everyone’s looking like a zombie … it’s really hard,” she said. “We’re surrendering ourselves –– but what we go through doesn’t compare to what (the kids) go through … it’s a reminder of why we do this, and it’s motivating.”

Dan Corey is a Rutgers Business School first-year student majoring in pre-business and journalism and media studies. He is an Associate News Editor at The Daily Targum. Follow him on Twitter @_dancorey for more stories.

View more of The Daily Targum’s coverage of Rutgers University Dance Marathon 2015 at dailytargum.com/rudm2015.



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