Wandothon, a dance marathon event where proceeds go to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital, happened on March 28th in Wando’s gym.
For months leading up to the event, board members worked with their teacher sponsor to plan the event, including organizing food, guest speakers, music, fundraising and the overall logistics of the event.
Junior Sydni Linomontes is a first year executive board member but was inspired to join through her friends and past experiences with the program.
“Last year I went to the event to try and get service hours and I saw how engaged and active the board members were,” Linomontes said. “I saw how much money they raised and I thought I could play a bigger part in raising money for the hospital.”
Junior Kate Morgan is also an executive board member who first got involved by attending the event last year and decided she wanted to play a bigger role in her community.
“Laine [Edwards], another Wandothon board member, actually invited me to the event last year and it was really fun because I got to meet the little girl who came last year and she got to share her story and how much Wandothon impacted her,” Morgan said. “It was so fun to see her and to see an example of a real life person who was impacted by the students here.”
The event typically provides students with an opportunity to get service hours and be engaged within their community. The greater impact, however, is understanding how the money raised is truly helping families.
“I think the goal overall is to make sure we help extend our community service not just within the school but broadening it and making it more in our community,” Linomontes said. “And making sure that everyone understands their impact, not just through raising money, but also attending the event and gaining a better understanding on where the money is going, which I think is very important for people to understand.”
Wandothon was a student council event, but then in 2019, Grech and other organizers quickly realized that it had to be its own organization separate from the student council.
“As a group they realized that Wandothon had to be its own separate group,” Grech said. “It is a little too big for the events that student council does throughout the year, there are things that we do throughout the entire year.”
Wandothon is part of a dance marathon organization that happens at many colleges and universities throughout the U.S. and in Canada. Some colleges raise millions of dollars for their local children’s hospitals. These collegiate level dance marathons are part of an even bigger organization called the Children’s Miracle Network.
As Grech began to learn a little bit more about the logistics of Wandothon and the Children’s Miracle Network, she was fully on board with sponsoring and organizing this event.
“I think next year I want to open it up as a club that anyone can join,” Grech said. “People who need service hours or who just want to come to the event, people who have a heart for the children’s hospital, maybe they want to work in healthcare in the future or maybe they themselves have had an experience with the children’s hospital. Or maybe they just think that it’s a cool way to get involved with the community.”
Wandothon is a form of community involvement that extends beyond just Wando.
“Just the difference it can make in the community we are in right now is impactful,” Morgan said. “You could literally meet someone who you helped change their life, and I think that is really cool.”
