UDance is a valuable univ. event

When Andrew McDonough died of leukemia, his family created the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation as a way to aid other families of children battling incurable diseases. On March 13, students at the university will work together with the B+ Foundation to sponsor the fifth annual UDance Marathon, which will serve as a fundraiser for pediatric cancer research and to benefit families of sick children. The event is a 12-hour dance marathon, in which music plays nonstop and members of different teams and groups of people that have raised money dance continuously throughout the 12 hours.

In recent years, the UDance fundraiser has had remarkable success in raising awareness and getting people involved in improving the lives of sick children and their families. It has incorporated numerous groups of students throughout the university campus, including Greek Life, a number of RSOs and several sports teams. Fraternity brothers and sorority sisters across campus have adopted certain sick children as UDance heroes, whom they forge close friendships with, visiting their "heroes" at the hospital and keeping up with news about their conditions.

With its growing popularity and number of supporters, UDance is a tremendously important philanthropic event at the university. Its ability to encompass many elements of the university community for a common cause makes it worthy of much praise and respect. From T-shirts to bumper stickers, the mark of the B+ Foundation has spread all over campus, and UDance is the culmination of all the growing support for the foundation.

Without the collaboration between student groups on campus and the B+ Foundation in organizing the annual UDance fundraiser, awareness for pediatric illnesses would not be where it is today. The increasing success of the fundraiser, and the participation of more of the university community than ever before, is a huge victory for everyone involved.