Hundreds of weary students rejoiced on Saturday night, just before midnight, when they learned that Dance Marathon (DM) 2013 had raised $83,184.75 for Rustic Falls Nature Camp and the District 219 Foundation for Excellence during the yearlong fundraising and awareness effort.
In addition, D219 students spent nearly 2,000 community service hours at Rustic Falls. The grand total was the result special student events at both Niles West and Niles North, canning by individual students, donations from faculty and donations from corporate sponsors. There were no matching grants this year. The following sponsors alone contributed nearly $7,000: Huntington Learning Center, Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club of Skokie Valley, ValueMags, Niles North Indo-Pak Club, MTD Property Managemen, Nikhar Beauty Salon, Nutrition and Health Consultants Ltd., Niles North Orchestra and Choir.
“I am so glad that I was a part of the exec board for Dance Marathon this year,” Matthew Ibrahim, graduating senior and first-year DM Finance exec, said. “It was a blast to work with [everybody]. I’m still amazed that we raised $83,000. It was a tough year but all of our hard work pulled through.”
DM took place at Niles North this year where some of the past charities, like RefugeeOne, and a lot of the kids that the students previously volunteered with at Rustic Falls came and visited. Many teachers and coaches, like Glenn Olson and Kristy Pommerenke-Schneider, came to show support and encourage the students.
Rustic Falls Nature Camp provides at-risk-youth, cancer survivors, and physically and mentally challenged young people and their families a recreational and educational safe environment. The camp was started by a Skokie family, Deanna and Eric Lentz.
“I would like to thank the Lentz family for the wonderful charity that they have created. [They] truly inspire me,” graduating North senior Theresa Murphy said. “Without seeing [their] passion for Rustic Falls, I know that I would not have been as motivated as I was to raise money this year. [They] have given us the opportunity to be super involved in [their] charity through DM.”
Dance Marathon is a not-for-profit student-led organization that raises money for a different charity every year. Dance Marathon was started in 2003. So far, Dance Marathon has raised more than $640,000 for 11 charities and the secondary beneficiary, the D219 Foundation. The 2014 charity will be announced on Tuesday, May 28, during the WHO Club Banquet.
[Check out the video in Showcase to get a taste of DM 2013.]
