The student organization Dance Marathon at LSU held an eight-hour dance marathon in Tiger Stadium’s South Stadium Club on Saturday, April 6 to raise money for pediatric patients at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge.

The dance marathon is known as the organization’s “Big Event.” In addition to the dancing, the event had stations with games, food and merchandise. There was one booth with posters detailing the stories of some of the kids the organization has helped through their fundraising.

One of these patients was 15-year-old Kelli Guillory, who has been attending the Big Event for eight years. Soon after she was born, Guillory was diagnosed with VLCAD, a condition that prevents the body from converting fats to energy, her poster read. Guillory has been in the hospital 78 times throughout her life.

Guillory said she enjoys the dance marathon because it gives her a break from her time in the hospital. She also says that the students involved with the event give her support throughout the year.

“They come and see me when I’m in the hospital, so I have fun with them,” Guillory said. “Even not here, they do other events, and I can get a break from all of my health issues, especially if I am in the hospital. They come see me, so it’s really fun.”

Guillory’s mother, Jennifer, also spoke to the influence of the organization’s volunteers on her daughter. In addition to visiting her in the hospital, the students also reach out to the family to check in. 

“Just that alone means so much to these families,” Jennifer Guillory said. “If they’re struggling in school, or they’re struggling personally, they are going to reach out to the parent and show up for these kids outside of the Big Event, outside of Dance Marathon. They show up when needed, and it’s incredible.”

In recent years, Dance Marathon at LSU’s funds were used to create a room with games for the teenage patients at OLOL. Kelli Guillory has enjoyed these games purchased through the fundraising efforts, including Mario Kart. Other funds Dance Marathon at LSU raises at the event go to medical needs at the hospital, such as light therapy sensory carts for the patients.

For the Big Event, students with Dance Marathon at LSU choreographed a nine minute dance routine to a mashup of famous songs and popular sounds on TikTok. The student leaders taught the kids and other attendees the dance, repeating the choreography every hour throughout the marathon as more attendees learned the moves.

Dance Marathon at LSU Vice President of Marketing Skye Reynolds, a digital advertising senior, said her involvement with the organization and seeing the impact it has on the child patients, has greatly changed her life for the better. Reynolds also said that event attendees didn’t need to be skilled dancers to make a difference.

“It’s a party with a purpose,” Reynolds said. “It’s so cliché but it’s one of our favorite phrases to say, ‘Bad dancing saves lives.’ You don’t have to know how to dance to come.”

The Big Event had three themes: superheroes versus supervillains, Disney and DM-chella, a play on the music festival Coachella. Attendees brought costumes for each of the themes.

Heaven Swanier, a performance theatre sophomore and the Dance Marathon at LSU morale captain, introduced the three theme hours at the event. Swanier also facilitated the games the children played and was one of the dance instructors. Working to improve the lives of the pediatric patients is impactful, Swanier said.

“It just makes me happy to see them be happy, and to know that we are helping them be happy,” Swanier said.

Dance Marathon at LSU Creative Director Kyla Averhart worked behind the scenes at the event to keep the organization’s social media updated. Averhart, a public relations junior, joined the organization as an outlet for her creativity. She says she has been able to express herself creatively, especially through posting on social media.

“We’re the image and the brand itself,” Averhart said. “I honestly feel like keeping people updated and posting about all the amazing things we do really does show them that we really do care and we’re dedicated about the cause.”

Averhart said seeing her work with Dance Marathon at LSU benefiting the pediatric patients has made a big impact on her.

“I hate that they have to go through the things they have to go through, but to be able to be outside of a hospital and celebrate and see that people love them outside of the nurses and the doctors that take care of them … They can just be kids without a sickness. That’s why I love it so much.”

Though the big event is Dance Marathon at LSU’s main fundraising push, the organization raises money for pediatric patients throughout the year. Most recently the organization held Battle of the Bars in Tigerland, which raised almost $21,000. The organization also hosts “Beat Bama Week,” in the fall when the LSU football team plays Alabama. 

Johnathan Brouk, the president of OLOL Children’s Health, attended the dance marathon. He emphasized the impact the student organization has on the children they work with.

“Dance Marathon is such a huge part of what we do at Our Lady of the Lakes Children’s Hospital. Over the last 11 years, almost $2 million dollars have been raised, and all that money goes directly to helping kids,” Brouk said.

Planning for the big event starts over the summer, almost a full year before the dance marathon, Dance Marathon at LSU President Delaney Mobley said.

“It’s definitely a lot to plan an event this big for so many people,” Mobley said. “But it’s so rewarding. There is no better word to say besides that. It’s super rewarding. It’s a really good experience. It’s such a good environment to have so many different people here from so different backgrounds just come in here and celebrate ending pediatric illness and fighting pediatric illness.”

Mobley has been involved with Dance Marathon at LSU for seven years, starting back when she was in high school. Mobley explains how impactful leaving the hospital to have fun is for the children patients.

“It’s such an experience for them just to get out of the hospital for a day and come and be a kid,” Mobley said. “That’s what we’re about at our core is just letting kids be kids. We are this generation fighting for the next, so that no kid has to worry about being in a dreary hospital or not having the experience that most kids have.”

In an Instagram post on Saturday night, Dance Marathon at LSU announced they had raised over $71,000 for pediatric patients in their fundraising efforts related to the Big Event.

“It’s just a time where we can celebrate these kids that we’ve been working to raise money for all year, so that they can have a time where they can just act like kids and not have to worry about all of the things they have been going through in the hospital,” Reynolds said. “They can just have eight hours to just feel like a kid.”