On  Feb. 26, the first-ever MSU Dance Marathon (StateDM) will be hosted in Newell-Grissom gym from 6 p.m. until 12  a.m. The event benefits the children of Le Bonheur’s Children’s Hospital.

This is the first year  Mississippi State will be participating in Dance Marathon. All students, parents and staff are all welcome to come together and dance all night for the kids. 

Taylor Darnell, a sophomore human sciences major, said she could not be more excited to participate in the very first StateDM.

“I have seen the differences that other colleges around the country have made on their local Children’s hospital, and I can not wait for MSU to be a part of that list,” Darnell said. 

MSU’s campus chapter of Miracle Network’s Dance Marathon was founded by an ambitious group of students in January 2015 in hopes to unite the campus in the fight against childhood cancer.

Those students  involved spend the year before the Dance Marathon learning invaluable life and leadership skills, all while interacting with patients and families at the Children’s Hospital to which the proceeds will go to.

All money raised throughout the past year, and all proceeds raised at the marathon will go to support Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. 

Celine Brazeal, president of MSU’s Dance Marathon chapter, said they prepared for a long time. 

“We have been raising money all year to lead up to our big event,” Brazeal said.

Recent fundraising events include “Rockin’ at Rick’s” and “Jumping in the Junction.”

Director of Hospital Relations for StateDM, Kari Ann Buckels, said  this “no sitting, no sleeping, non-stop dance marathon” is for all of those children who cannot.

At the top of every hour during the event, the plan is to have at least one family or patient from Le Bonheur’s share their story and motivate participants to keep dancing. 

At all participating schools, each Dance Marathon event is entirely student-run 100 percent of funds raised will go directly to the specific hospital in which they are supporting. Last year alone, college dance marathons raised over $8 million. 

According to the website,  this organization was originally established in 1991 at Indiana University. Since then, Dance Marathon has become a nationwide movement involving thousands of high-school and college students at more than 400 schools across the country; all of who are benefiting hundreds of hospital and countless kids. 

If interested in participating, registration is still open on the StateDM website stated.weebly.com. It is $20 to sign up, however, that cost will cover a T-shirt, dinner, and a night entirely devoted to the kids of Le Bonheur’s Children Hospital.