In its eleventh year, BuckeyeThon continues to push the envelope for a good cause as the number of participants for its annual dance marathon continues to grow, and they raise the bar for fundraising.
BuckeyeThon is a student organization that hosts a 12-hour annual dance marathon and is one of the largest student philanthropic groups on campus. The dance event raises money for Nationwide Children’s Hospital; $222,518 was raised during the 2011 marathon and $100,823 in 2010, according to Lantern archives.
The dance marathon also continues to grow in its number of participants every year. In 2011, 1,400 dancers registered for the dance marathon, according to Lantern archives; the anticipated registration for 2012 is an additional 1,000 dancers.
“I would say we are expected to hit 2,450 to 2,500 by the date of the dance marathon,” said Kiersten McCartney, a third-year in biology and director of dancer fundraising.
So far, more than 2,400 students have registered, with nearly a month left until the event.
“Our goal is to raise $275,000; we’re really hoping to hit that mark. It’ll be just over $50,000 more than last year,” McCartney said.
Each participant is required to pay $100 to register, along with a $10 fee that covers all overhead costs for the event. Many students turn to fundraising to decrease the personal cost of participating.
“My committee and I work to ensure that every dancer that registers for BuckeyeThon has the tools required to raise the $100,” McCartney said.
BuckeyeThon provides students with opportunities such as selling chocolate, selling football helmet-shaped mugs, holding letter-writing campaigns to reach out to family members and organizing trips to nearby communities to go door-to-door “canning,” or asking for food donations, McCartney said.
They also take advantage of the crowds of Buckeye fans that come to town during football season.
“One football game, canners will go out for about an hour before the game to tailgates to solicit donations from fans who are in town,” McCartney said.
While these options are available for all students, some elect to come up with their own creative fundraising techniques.
Jenny Tran, a second-year in biology, held an event called “Pie an RA” in her residence hall on Jan. 22, during which she and her friends charged students $1 to throw a pan of whipped cream at a resident adviser in her complex that had volunteered for the cause.
Tran and her friends had hoped to raise $200, but only brought in $50 from the event.
Tran, who participated last year, said she was attracted to the event because of its popularity on campus.
“BuckeyeThon had so much hype and energy,” Tran said. “It’s not something I can do in my hometown, and how can you say no to the cause?”
Other students have found more success in their independent fundraising.
Emily Fetheroff, a second-year in psychology and public affairs, has raised $115 from doing hair. Fetheroff is charging $3 for braided hair, $5 for curled hair and $10 for updo-styled hair.
Fetheroff, who is a first-time participant, said raising money on her own is “better than begging for money from her family.”
BuckeyeThon will begin at 8 p.m. on Feb. 25, and end at 8 a.m. Feb. 26. The dance marathon will be held in the Archie Griffin Ballroom at the Ohio Union. The all-night event will feature live performances, entertainment, music and games along with dancing.
Registration is open until the day of the event, or until the cap of 2,750 participants has been reached. Anyone can make a general donation or to a specific dancer by visiting the BuckeyeThon website.
