Preparations are underway for Saturday, when more than 1,000 students will pack the Women’s Building and dance all night long at Syracuse University’s first Children’s Miracle Network dance marathon.

The event, called OttoTHON, will take place from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and all proceeds from the event will go to Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, a member of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

As of Wednesday, more than 1,000 students have registered for the event, but OttoTHON officials are expecting, and hoping, that the turnout will be less. The capacity of the Women’s Building gymnasium is only around 800, said Amelia Stalknecht, finance chair of OttoTHON.

Families that will likely benefit directly from this year’s fundraising efforts will be on hand to speak with participants, putting a face to the thousands of dollars raised for this event. “For the Kids” has become a recognizable rallying cry for dance marathons throughout the country, and has likewise been adopted by OttoTHON.

Participants can expect the event to go on as a typical dance party, sans the adult beverages, Stalknecht said. Multiple disc jockeys will take their turns playing music, and dancers will not be permitted to sit throughout the entirety of the event. Also, a stage will be provided for featured dancers, along with eye-catching light effects.

“People should go crazy, wear tutus, wear costumes, the lights will be off so wear neon,” Stalknecht said. “We have food, we’re giving out T-shirts, we have glow sticks, we’re going to shut the lights off, it’s like a dance party.”

Refreshments will be provided for the performers in the form of donations from local restaurants such as Insomnia cookies and others.

Dance marathons are increasingly popular throughout the country, as many college students see the efforts put forth at universities such as Penn State and Northwestern. Thon, as it’s known at Penn State, took place earlier this week and raised more than $13 million, giving it the title of the largest student-run philanthropy event in the world, according to thon.org.

“We hope to grow bigger and bigger each year,” said Ariel Litovsky, public relations chair of OttoTHON. “Eventually, we hope to have it at the (Carrier) Dome.”

Saturday’s event is the culmination of fundraising efforts that have gone on over the past few months. The event has raised $60,000 of its $105,000 goal, and hopes to make a last-ditch effort to come closer to that number.

Stalknecht said that organizers want to make the dance marathon a reoccurring event.

“We want this to become a legacy tradition here at SU,” Stalknecht said. “We think that this event is something everyone will have fun at. You can be any type of person and like this event. It’s not just about students at a dance party all night, it’s more for the kids.”

Published on February 26, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Joe: jpleonar@syr.edu