Congrats to everyone that participated in Dance Blue 2017! Not only did you raise 1,785,286.96 for the kids, but you showed college-age students all around the world that you can make a difference. Through fundraising, participation in high school mini-marathons, and gaining public support for the Dance Blue marathon, you helped the world take one step closer to ending childhood cancer.
The idea of Dance Blue originated when one boy by the name of Jarrett Mynear listed down a few simple requests. Jarrett Mynear was a friendly, energetic young man who became a local celebrity here in Kentucky. Jarrett was so admirable because of his unyielding devotion to helping others and his ability to cope with the most difficult of situations. He was someone you could always turn to, no matter the situation. What was even more remarkable about him was that Jarret had been living with a rare bone disease, Ewin’s Sarcoma, since he was only 2 years old. By the time he had reached thirteen, he had been diagnosed with various forms of cancer six times.
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During the last week of his life. Jarrett Maynear made a list of requests. One of the most notable requests was his request to raise funds for improving the Pediatric Oncology Outpatient Clinic at Kentucky Children’s Hospital. This fundraising grew into what is now known as Dance Blue. Dance Blue came about after Jarrett's mom and Susannah Dennome from the University of Kentucky Office of Development, began thinking of ways UK students could get involved and contribute to cancer research funding. They saw how much momentum and support dance marathons were getting at other colleges around the country, and decided to give it a try at the University of Kentucky.
Dance Blue has been gaining momentum for years, but this year, it reached new heights with $1,785,286.96 raised FTK! Where will this money go, you ask? The Dance Blue KCH Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic! The money from Dance Blue has helped create an entire clinic to serve patients from all around Kentucky. That in itself is an amazing accomplishment, but Dance Blue won't stop there. In fact, it is a common motto that Dance Blue dancers "Don't stop until the fight is won!"
Thank you, dancers of Dance Blue 2017, for sacrificing 24 hours of your life to help end pediatric cancer. Let's do it again next year!
For more information on how you can get involved visit http://danceblue.org/ and be the difference you want to see in the world!
