A whole new party is coming to Syracuse University.

SU students will dance the night away in OttoTHON, the first ever dance marathon created for the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, for 12 straight hours sometime during the spring semester. Beginning next week, the organization will start hosting mini-fundraisers for the marathon.

By raising $100, students can participate in the 12-hour event held in the Schine Student Center. Once the dance marathon starts, the students have the chance to raise more money throughout the night.

 Britt Davis, Children’s Miracle Network dance marathon manager for the East Coast, said that the money, raised by colleges and universities all over the United States, goes directly to the hospitals for the kids.

“My ultimate goal for OttoTHON would be that students who attend the event would be brought into the cause by the end of 12 hours,” Davis said. “After they see the total amount of funds raised at the end of the night, I hope the OttoTHON tradition is alive and well.”

Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, which is one of 170 Children’s Miracle Network hospitals nationwide, has been waiting many years for the right student to come and lead SU in its dance marathon debut.

Jillian Lynch, co-founder of OttoTHON and columnist for The Daily Orange, contacted Davis about hosting a dance marathon early last year when she found out there wasn’t one already held at SU.

“I started participating in dance events in high school and when I realized a dance marathon for Children’s Miracle Network wasn’t already a tradition at Syracuse, I contacted the Children’s Miracle Network where I was given my adviser, Britt,” Lynch said.

Lynch, the sophomore broadcast and digital journalism and political philosophy major, then went on to form her executive board — a team of sophomores and upperclassmen who have been working hard to make progress on the event that has taken a year to plan.

Lynch added that OttoTHON has been working with the hospital to plan mini-events in order to kick-start the fundraising process for the dance marathon. RadioThon, which will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 10, and Thursday, Sept. 11, and trick-or-treating for the kids in the hospital, are just two examples of the small fundraisers.

OttoTHON’s executive board is currently in the process of registering the dance marathon to become a recognized student organization, a title the board hopes to achieve by the end of September. The money given to the organization after the recognition will be used toward buying any goods needed for the event that local stores and organizations have not already donated.

Jessica Goldstone, a senior psychology and public relations major and OttoTHON catering chair, said she believes that the Donor Drive system that will soon be open on the OttoTHON website will create friendly competition amongst different student organizations and individuals who fundraise for the event.

“We plan on having a lot of sororities and fraternities get involved because of their background in philanthropy, and our Greek Cup award (will be given) to the highest donating Greek organization on campus,” Goldstone said.

The executive board also plans on reaching out to multiple campus groups, including residence halls and student clubs. Goldstone said she’s not worried about a lack in Orange spirit and believes OttoTHON will become an SU tradition after the first dance marathon event.

Goldstone added that she got involved with OttoTHON because it was another way for her to raise money to help children at the hospital with diseases such as cancer, as well as be a part of an event that many students will attend in the coming years.

“People are going to have so much fun at OttoTHON,” Goldstone said. “It’s another way for students to get involved in philanthropy, which Syracuse University has always been really strong in.”

Published on September 2, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Katelyn: kmfaubel@syr.edu