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Niles North High School | Skokie, IL

North Star News

Niles North High School | Skokie, IL

North Star News

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Dance Marathon welcomes the Dan Horyn Foundation

Dance+Marathon+welcomes+the+Dan+Horyn+Foundation

During March and April last year, over 60 Dance Marathon (DM) executive board members gathered on two separate days to begin the charity selection process for this school year. It started with over 75 charities of varying missions that were nominated and was then narrowed to four. After a long, selective process, the Daniel M. Horyn Foundation was selected to be the Dance Marathon and School Chest beneficiary for the 2014-15 school year.

Last year, our beloved teacher, coach, co-worker, and friend Daniel Horyn passed away after a 13 month battle with esophageal cancer. As a coach, Horyn helped bring together a large cross country team and formed a tight knit family. He also taught AP English to juniors and his students continue to praise him for the mark he made on their life.

With the help of Dr. Victoria M. Villaflor, his wife Andrea Horyn decided to form a charity dedicated to raising awareness, improving the life of other cancer patients, and also support esophageal cancer research in Horyn’s honor.

Villaflor and her team “gave us an understanding of Dan’s disease that brought us hope and allowed us to come to peace,” said Andrea Horyn.

The Daniel M. Horyn Foundation strives to bring that same model of passion, awareness and understanding to help others facing similar challenges.

Nick Pitchan, an athlete who was coached under Mr. Horyn, expressed his excitement about the charity selection.

“I’m really happy and thrilled that DM selected the foundation as their charity this year. It’s great because Dan Horyn was someone who was looked up to and loved by everyone. I think this is a good way to raise money and awareness for a great cause inspired by an amazing man,” Pitchan said.

This past June, the Dan Horyn Skokie Swift 5k took place. There were over 1,000 registrations and a total of over $35,000 was raised for the charity. As a newfound charity, this was a great start. District 219’s Dance Marathon has been working towards promoting the charity with fundraising events, and great new t-shirts, as well as raising money throughout the school year.

The next big event is the Dan Horyn Nature Run. This is a scenic 5k run through the beautiful trails of Rustic Falls Nature Camp. 100% of the proceeds go to the District 219 Dance Marathon in benefitting The Daniel M. Horyn Foundation.

For more information about the Daniel M. Horyn Foundation visit http://danielmhorynfoundation.org/.

To learn more about Dance Marathon and get involved, go to www.dm219.org.

 

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Dance Marathon welcomes the Dan Horyn Foundation