PAGE 14 // WEDNESDAY. APRIL 21. 2010
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Avery Lucas
Reporter
A typical college student stays up for
long stretches of time anyway, but rarely
for 24 hours straight. Rarer still is a student
staying up 24 hours on their feet, dancing
the night and day away to support medical
research for children. At Elon University
more than a thousand students were willing
to stand and dance for 24 hours for the
cause.
Elonthon is an annual fundraiser where
people dance for 24 hours to raise money
and awareness for Duke Children’s Hospital.
Since 2003 Elonthon has been the largest
student-run, money-raising philanthropic
endeavor on campus with many students
working on the event. Morale team, where
students cheer on the other student dancers,
is one way students can become more
involved.
“I signed up for Morale team for two
reasons,” sophomore Alii Brewer said. “First,
the message of Elonthon is an amazing and
inspriing one. Second of all, wh doesn’t want
to make everyone smile at an event like a 24-
hour dance marathon?”
This year’s Elonthon had a total of
1,200 dancers. The dance ran from 6 p.m.
April 16 to 6 p.m. April 17. Elonthon had
many activities and performers providing
entertainment for its dancers, including
Sweet Signatures, Twisted Measure and
Elon’s Finest.
“1 chose to do the full 24 hours because
1 could experience the pain that these kids
go througff on a daily basis," said Stephanie
Lindeman, a first-time 24-hour dancer.
“During this time I had to rely on my close
friends to help me pull through, but 1 can
only imagine that it is nothing compared to
what these kids go through every day of their
lives.”
Stories of miracle children from Duke
Children’s Hospital were told to make the
students aware of why they were dancing for
such an important cause. During each shift,
a parent would stand on stage and talk about
their child’s illness, how Duke Children’s
Hospital helped them and how important
and helpful Elonthon is to the children who
go to the hospital every day.
Since Elonthon is “for the kids,” it was
only appropriate that many of this year’s
Miracle Children showed up and even
stayed awake for the full 24 hours. Many
organizations including the Student Union
Board, Intervarsity and Greek organizations
sponsored a child, and had a huge banner in
his or her honor hanging from the second
story of Alumni Gym. Many of the Miracle
Children came to Elonthon. A set of twins
were celebrating their fifth birthday, and
a child cancer survivor performed “Sweet
Home Alabama” for the crowd.
At the last shift of Elonthon, members of
the event's executive committee announced
that there was one final way for the dancers
to show support for the kids. Dancers could
donate 10 inches of their hair to Locks of Love,
an organization that makes real hair wigs for
cancer patients. This year, two women took
the chance to show their support for the kids
and gave away 10 inches of their hair to be
made into a wig.
The dedicated committee members,
contributors and dancers who came to the
event know it’s because of one reason only:
for the kids.
ALL PHOTOS BY HEATHER CASS^^iO | Staff Photographer
Top; Dancers participate in a worliout session led by Campus
Recreation. Lett: Josh, a survivor of a rare metabolic disorder
entertains the audience. Above: Elonthon executives open the
event with the original Elonthon dance Right: The Elonthon
morale committee pumps up the crowd.