My First VictorThon

This year, I participated in an organization called Dance Marathon at the University of Michigan (DMUM). I spent the year fundraising money to help support therapies in C.S. Mott and Beaumont Children's Hospitals that are not otherwise covered by insurance plans.

Every year, there is a huge event called VictorThon where hundreds of students spend 24 hours standing in support of these initiatives. During VictorThon the families that benefit from our work attend the event. They participate in Talent Shows and Fashion Shows, and some of the kids even choose to participate in learning the Line Dance that is taught every year over the course of VictorThon. The Line Dance is a compilation of about 30 songs that ends up lasting about 15 minutes, and every year the Line Dance is different.

Throughout VictorThon there are also performances by student organizations on campus. These included A Capella groups, Dance groups, and appearances by people who led dance classes in Zumba and a form of Brazillian social dance called Zouk.

As a part of Dance Marathon, different teams are grouped into larger groups which are called Houses. And throughout the night, there is a competition amongst the different houses called House Wars. During House Wars, there are points that people can win by participating in games and during the Lip Sync challenge. One of the games I participated in was Dodgeball.

The Lip Sync Challenge is a huge competition, where each house choreographs a two minute dance to a 4 song compilation and it is judged by the leadership team of DMUM. It is a really fun time to dance and sing to fun songs other than the Line Dance.

My favorite part of VictorThon was learning the line dance. I always got so excited when I heard the call song go off that signifies when it's time to learn some of the dance. The line dance is taught three songs at a time until we reach the end. It was also one of the activities that allowed my feet to hurt less.

I can't wait to participate in VictorThon again next year.