BuckeyeThon's dance marathon is one of the most well known events at Ohio State. Every year, thousands of students fundraise for months to help BuckeyeThon meet it's fundraising goal of one million dollars for the kids and families of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, specifically in the Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant departments. While the dance marathon is the student-run philanthropy's biggest event of the year, general body members work 365 (sometimes 366) days of the year For The Kids. Hundreds of schools across the country hold an annual dance marathon, but BuckeyeThon is really something special. The Buckeye spirit really makes our dance marathon stand out from the rest.

As a freshman, BuckeyeThon is one the first organizations you begin to recognize around campus. Recruitment and fundraising starts the day students get to campus and never seems to end. You see that red heart with the Buckeye leaf in the center and instantly know what it means. I had insane FOMO after missing the registration deadline freshman year (which I later learned was totally legitimate FOMO), and decided the second I joined a big organization my sophomore year to sign up for the dance marathon with them. I cannot get over how overjoyed I am that I decided to become part of such an amazing cause.

So, how did I fall so madly in love with BuckeyeThon? It's really a simple story. I signed up for the fun of dancing (and the tutus, let's be honest), but didn't know too much about what I was getting in to or what I was raising money for. Rather than participating with no purpose, I decided to do my research on the cause. I remember starting to read up on my team's BuckeyeThon kids, and after their stories pulled on my heart strings, I read up on each kid. I was sitting in my apartment, crying my eyes out reading each and every story. The strength each kid had and the things they overcame blew my mind. These kids so quickly stole my heart and each one personally became a hero to me. They showed more strength in the early years of their lives than I've shown in my twenty years.

So why am I so passionate about raising money for BuckeyeThon? It is incredible to me that I can drive by the hospital that this money goes to daily and know my fundraising work is going to great use. The $1,300,000+ I helped raise last year is the reason why Nationwide is able to provide the best care possible to these kids. The main reason I work so hard to fundraise isn't even because the funds are giving this hospital the resources to provide these groundbreaking treatments; It is so important to me that the funds I raise help make sure the kids and their families are treated as human beings, not just patients. BuckeyeThon's fundraising supports families and helps them pay medical bills, and is able to provide kids with important resources for recovery in all aspects of their lives. It helps provide tutoring for the kids to make an easier transition back into their education, provides art therapy to help the children cope, and even wagons to help transport young patients around the hospital in a more fun way (because who doesn't love being pulled around in a wagon?).

While the monetary support BuckeyeThon gives is incredible, it is only a tiny part of the reason I love it so much. Being a part of BuckeyeThon gives me the chance to give these families the emotional support to get through anything and I get to give these kids a chance to give a bit of their childhood back that their illnesses stole from them. I am so thankful to get to be a part of this incredible event that these kids look forward to all year. I get to celebrate their courage and strength with them, and be a part of memories that they will remember for the rest of their lives. I remember Corbin's parents talking about why BuckeyeThon has been life changing to them, and crying my eyes out (before the opening ceremonies even began at the 2016 dance marathon). Nothing compares to watching these kids light up as they run down that red carpet as thousands of students cheer them on, and watching them smile ear to ear as we play and dance with them.

I have to mention the incredible impact BuckeyeThon had on me personally. After a rough start to the year. BuckeyeThon gave me the opportunity to let go for a night. I made numerous friends I would have never met otherwise and grew closer with my friends in the group I joined with. During my 12-hour shift, I experienced every emotion possible. I pushed myself through exhaustion that I didn't believe was possible. I overcame a major part of my anxiety disorder by pushing myself to be in a huge crowd with hundreds of other people. I can walk up to BuckeyeThon members and always feel like I have a friend in them. I have never felt as at home at Ohio State as I did in the short time of the dance marathon. For the first time in my life, I became part of something so much bigger than myself and had the chance to make an incredible difference. The things being a dancer, fundraiser, and team captain has taught me has truly shaped me in to the person I am now; A strong leader, a friendly team player, a hard worker, a passionate philanthropist, and a (pretty good) dancer! BuckeyeThon has given me as a dancer, and now team captain, more than I ever could have imagined.

I can never thank this organization enough for everything is has done: for me personally, for this university, and most importantly, for the kids and their families. I'll never stop supporting this cause with all my heart because every kid deserves to be a Buckeye.

If you're interested in donating or reading more about my BuckeyeThon journey, click here.