March 8, 2007

Record success for Dance Marathon

Funds support epilepsy research, Evanston Community Foundation

Students who participated in Dance Marathon 2007, which culminated this past weekend, netted a record-breaking $708,711.20 for two local beneficiaries.

Of that total, $423,027.68 will be donated to Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE), this year’s primary beneficiary. CURE advocates for more federal funding for epilepsy research, awards grants to researchers and sponsors scientific conferences to discuss research trends.

The Evanston Community Foundation (ECF), Dance Marathon’s secondary beneficiary, will receive $47,003. ECF awards grants and conducts programs that build and unite community-wide resources in Evanston. ECF has benefited from Dance Marathon since 1998.

A total number of 58,864 volunteer hours were logged in making the event so successful.

Northwestern’s Dance Marathon, one of the world’s largest collegiate philanthropies, has raised more than $8 million for various charities since it began in 1975. Last year, Dance Marathon raised $686,377 to support Pediatrics AIDS Chicago Prevention and ECF.

More than 1,000 Northwestern students are directly involved in Dance Marathon making it one of the largest student-run philanthropies in the country.

In addition to the 600-plus dancers and numerous campus events, mini Dance Marathons were held for Northwestern alumni nationwide.