Dance Marathon 2013!

By Catalina Quintana

After a year of hard work, volunteering and fundraising for Children’s Miracle Network at Shands Hospital for Children and Florida State University’s College of Medicine Pediatric Outreach Program, we are happy to announce that Alpha Chi Omega and our partners, the gentlemen of Chi Phi Fraternity, raised over $50,000 and placed second at Dance Marathon this year.

Dance Marathon at FSU is the largest DM in the Southeast, and raised over $701,000 this year, a 20% increase from last year’s total. The event was held on March 22-24 at the Leon County Civic Center where students pledged to stand for one of two 20 hour shifts “for the kids.” This event was the culmination of year-long efforts to raise money and fundraise.

We are so proud of all of the women in our chapter who participated to make this happen.

Dancer Representatives Janet Parry and Sydney Botkin organized and informed the chapter of Dance Marathon events all year long and rallied for active participation. When Sydney had to step down in Fall due to being elected to the executive board, Janet stepped up to the plate and led the AXO dancers to success with leadership and determination, working with Chi Phi to set up creative fundraisers and to participate actively in all events.

Chelsea Swan and Catalina Quintana were elected to be on the Overall Committee for Dance Marathon as the Finance Chair and Marketing Chair, respectively. These women helped plan the entire event, invested countless hours throughout the year, and remained at the event for over 40 hours. They were even invited to the Dance Marathon Leadership Convention in 2012!

Kelly Palmer and Libby Pace were elected as Assistants to the Overall Committee for the Community Events Chair and Marketing Chair, respectively. These women were a huge aid in planning the event and stayed at the event for over 40 hours as well!

We also had an outstanding group of committee members from the chapter who volunteered their time at the event to assist with any and every task that was needed of them. These philanthropic women are: Alyssa Farrell, Simone Torres, Jane Guemmer, Tia Balthrop, and Lauren Wood Lindsey Davidson, Keely Finnegan, and more.

The spirit of Dance Marathon is embodied by the Morale Captains who are responsible for maintaining the energy of the dancers who tire after so many hours on their feet. Their captivating energy and outstanding personalities is what distinguished them over hundreds of applicants. Thanks to our morale captains Chelsea Moyle, Brooke Swilley, Corine Samaras, Kendall Scarlett, and Julia Welling.