Dancing for SickKids
GUEST BLOG – Tara Oliphant, Coordinator, National Partnerships & CMN, SickKids Foundation
I was fifteen and an elite gymnast when I began fainting. “Probably just growing too fast” was my doctor’s best guess at the time. Toward the end of the school year, I fainted and fell so hard that I broke my jaw and seven teeth. I was rushed by ambulance to SickKids, where my mouth was wired shut and doctors began to investigate if there was something more serious behind the fall.
I always knew the hospital was a special place for my family. SickKids took care of my mother`s sister for three years while she battled brain cancer, which she was diagnosed with when she was only six-years-old. SickKids gave comfort to my little cousin as he endured multiple ear surgeries in order to hear life clearly. Another young family member used counseling services at SickKids to cope with difficult personal issues. This time, SickKids was helping me.
Eight years later, and fully recovered from what ended up being the early roots of a neurological disorder, I now work with student groups who want to help the next generation of patients at SickKids. These ambitious young leaders are hosting “Dance Marathon” events at their very own schools. In 2015 alone, this program raised over $26 million for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals across Canada and the United States. More students are now participating in Children's Miracle Network Dance Marathons than any other student-led philanthropy in North America.
“…it is really all about starting that spark…”
Dance Marathons are typically between 4 to12 hours long and keep students up on their feet for the duration of the event. Dancing, entertainment, games, speakers and interaction with SickKids patients and families make the time go by quickly. The entire organization of a Dance Marathon event is up to the students, with our team’s support, making each one a cultural reflection of the host school and its student body.
While these incredibly inspiring events are well-established and loved in many communities, Dance Marathon is still relatively new in Ontario. St. James Elementary School in Ajax was the first to join the movement within SickKids` market, largely driven by the spirit of its own student patients. Since then, interest from other schools in the GTA really began to take off in the fall of 2015.
I realized momentum was gathering in September as I was walking through the Atrium of SickKids – which has grown into a nostalgic and important place for me, as it has for many others. I felt my phone buzz and was excited to see an e-mail come in from a University of Toronto student named Farhan who wanted to introduce the Dance Marathon program to his campus. Farhan previously worked at SickKids as a volunteer intern and wanted to do more for the hospital and its patients after his eye-opening experience. He collaborated with the UofT Students Supporting SickKids club and they worked together as a team to raise over $3,000 for SickKids at their recent March 16 event. The students were motivated to continue this tradition and hope to grow the program as much as possible over the next several years.
“It breaks my heart that kids have to be in the hospital and their families have to go through such hard times,” Farhan offered as his reason for bringing Dance Marathon to his school. “I knew I had to get UofT involved in order to make a difference by starting small; it is really all about starting that spark, that just gets bigger and bigger, and I hope to keep fueling this spark by encouraging other high schools, universities and colleges to do the same.
” Many other Ontario universities and high schools have recently jumped on board to join the Dance Marathon movement. It is incredible to watch the program build across Ontario and I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with such passionate students who are excited to lead change in children’s health. Together, we are a generation fighting for the next!
To learn more about Dance Marathon and to get involved, please visit www.dancemarathon.com or e-mail Tara. You can also join our Dance Marathons supporting SickKids event page on Facebook. For the kids!
