Auburn's annual dance marathon chose a mysterious form of advertising this year that has many students questioning, "Who's Maddie?"
"We really wanted to find an alternative to get the campus' attention," said Casey Stein, director of Dance Marathon and sophomore in human development and family studies. "Because Dance Marathon is incredibly different from every other fundraiser, we needed a campaign that was just as bizarre."
Maddie, a miracle child in Auburn, is expected to attend with her family to share their story at the Dance Marathon this winter.
Maddie was born 20 weeks premature in 2010, and she stayed for a period of time at the Columbus Regional Medical Center in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Today, Maddie is a healthy 21-month-old girl because of the care at CMN.
"Miracle children can be defined as a child or family who has been a patient at a Children's Miracle Network Hospital," Stein said.
Dance Marathon flooded campus with its paper-filled advertising scheme, and students embraced the cause.
"Because the poster and fliers lacked any organization affiliation, it was frustrating for Auburn to distinguish the legitimacy of the posters," Stein said. "But by the second day, Auburn was onboard with the Dance Marathon and also touched by Maddie's story."
The Dance Marathon will be Feb. 4 in the Student Center Ballroom from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. to allow the miracle children to come in and share their stories with Auburn students.
Auburn's Dance Marathon hopes to make a huge difference in Auburn's community.
"Everyone knows a child whom this philanthropy has helped, and 'Ask Maddie' is about having that child's face right in front of you," said Ben Burkett, sophomore in marketing and assistant director of Dance Marathon.
Stein and Burkett both have a personal connection with CMN.
"I was actually a 'Miracle Kid,' being treated by a CMN hospital for over 10 years," Stein said. "My childhood was truly defined by the care and experience I had from CMN, and I wanted to help be a part of the cause that facilitated a love for hospitals rather than a resentment toward my condition."
Burkett's passion for CMN started when a boy in his fourth-grade class was diagnosed with leukemia.
"He was treated by a Children's Miracle Network hospital," Burkett said. "Now that I am older, I understand what all the CMN hospitals did for him and his family."
Fundraising for CMN is an important part of Dance Marathon.
"Other universities are able to raise millions of dollars in a single year for their CMN hospitals, and once we have the Auburn family invested, I have no doubt we will do the same," Stein said.
Alexa Cox, freshman in biomedical sciences, has raised money since attending her Camp War Eagle session over the summer.
"So far I have raised $1,133, and I am hoping to raise $2,000 by February," Cox said.
Cox's life experiences pushed her to support the cause and the children who benefit from it.
"When I was 9, I was in a boating accident that left a giant scar on my right arm," Cox said. "It could have been a lot worse than it was, so any chance I get to help others, I do."
Cox plans to apply to be a morale leader, helping to lift the crowd's energy during the 12-hour event.
Stein hopes to strengthen Dance Marathon by extending it into the community.
"We would love to expand Dance Marathon out into the community, but this year our focus was needed on campus and spreading the word," Stein said. "Once we have a firm foundation developed on campus, we would like to include the local high schools and middle schools by helping to organize their own mini dance marathons."
Stein said faculty and students should think of this year's marathon as an entirely new event.
"We ultimately want Dance Marathon to be a philanthropy that the Auburn family embraces and welcomes as an Auburn tradition," Stein said. "We stand for those who can't, and we do it for the kids."
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