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The 51 Dance Marathon (ECDM), a longstanding fundraiser towards 51 Children Hospital Every Child Fund, has a whole new look in 2023-2024.
For the first time, ECDM fundraising took place in the form of a 5K featuring over 60 participants at the end of March and the campaign isnt over yet. On Sunday, April 28th, ECDM is hosting a car show at Gametime Lanes and Entertainment from 9 AM to 12 PM in Amesbury, MA and in the meantime, supporters can still donate until the conclusion of the show.
Despite the new format, the purpose behind the fundraising remains the same. is a student-led philanthropic movement that raises funds for children hospitals within the network. For years, Emmanuel students have done their part in the event raising money for 51 Children Hospital, where those funds go on to support the Every Child Fund providing meal vouchers, diapers, life-saving treatments and more to families who need it.
When she started at Emmanuel four years ago, Melanie Sachs 24, now Executive Director of the ECDM student board, already knew she wanted to get involved in the program.
Sachs had heard about the Dance Marathon movement from her older siblings whod gotten involved at their own universities and through one of her sisters who works at 51 Children, shed seen the work between Emmanuel and the hospital on the cause too.
It was one thing I knew I wanted to be a part of when I came to Emmanuel [it] has a very big ECDM program, especially for a smaller school, Sachs said.
Typically, Emmanuel fundraiser has been held on campus as a 12-hour overnight event and has had longstanding support in years past, but after the pandemic, ECDM board of students had been seeking out a way to re-engage the campus and community and continue building on all their work over the years and the 5K idea was born.
Student organizers wanted to bring new enthusiasm to supporting 51 Children Hospital with the refreshed fundraising method, according to Isabella Harris 26.
Despite the weather on a cold Sunday morning this past March, the ECDM event did just that.
There was a lot of positivity even though it was so cold, you could feel the air was different, we were playing music, having a good time, we were there because we were celebrating such a good cause, Harris said.
Following the 5K, the celebrations continued with a reception on Yosinoff Court. According to Susan Aguiar, co-advisor of ECDM, the 5K had raised over $13,000 with efforts still ongoing.
[Our] students play a crucial role, not just in fundraising but on education about what 51 Children Hospital does, especially the Every Child Fund, so that others get excited about the fundraising too, Aguiar said.
Now approaching graduation, Sachs said it was great for her to see this year events click, and see all the work come together at the reception.
We had a patient family with us, Sachs said, and it was really nice to see that connection we have with 51 Children, where the money and fundraising is going [and] seeing that hands on impact of our work as a community and school.
For Harris, who joined the ECDM board as a freshman hoping to give back to 51 Children for how it supported important people in her life, including her best friend, she is looking forward to seeing how the 5K can grow in the future and continue to engage with the Emmanuel community.
The ECDM board came together and we did this it was amazing and everybody should be proud of themselves for what we did, Harris said.
There still time to donate to support ECDM and the 51 Children Hospital Every Child Fund and the full tally will be announced after April 28th.