Auburn University Dance Marathon recently raised a little over $350,000, which was $200,000 less than last year.
“We knew that, coming into this year, we were losing some large donors from previous years,” said Mitchell Irsik, senior in nursing and AUDM’s vice president for community outreach. “We knew this would impact our totals for this year. We [also] know that the impact we make is not defined by a number but by the way we change the Miracle Kids’ lives for the better.”
All the money raised throughout the year goes directly to the hospital for the kids.
Every year, many children from the hospital come to Auburn to socialize, dance and have fun with Auburn students.
Groups of students formed teams by color and dressed in outfits to make the kids laugh and welcome them. The students who register and get to see the children face-to-face get to have a direct impact on the kids during the event.
“AUDM really focused on campus outreach this year,” Irsik said. “We knew the positive impact we could have in future years by reaching out to as many people on campus as possible.”
Irsik said reaching out to students across campus could cause students who didn’t register or attend the marathon this year to potentially register and fundraise next year.
“Our staff and participants worked year-round to raise as much possible for the hospital and for the kids,” Irsik said.
Irsik said she’s “not sure what will change about the event next year” in order to ensure they raise more money.
“I am excited to see what the executive board for AUDM 2021 has in store for this amazing organization,” she said. “We have a very passionate group of students that work tirelessly all year to make as many miracles happen for our hospital as possible, and I know that they will do the same next year.”
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