Dr. Schatz & UF Department of Pediatrics
Dance Marathon at the University of Florida has been the grateful recipient of a monetary sponsorship from the UF Department of Pediatrics since 2018. In that time, we have been excited to see this partnership grow and make even more miracles For The Kids at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital, our local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.
Our 26th year of making miracles and saw great success, both monetarily and through increased dancer engagement, during this time of extraordinary uncertainty.
We understandably had to move our in-person event to a virtual one in just 16 days, an adapted to Rise As One in this new normal—against all odds.
Even amidst a global pandemic, 768 virtual fundraisers participated in our event. By far, our greatest success was our in-event marketing and awareness efforts, which increased exponentially over social media in 2020 through the support of sponsors like the UF Department of Pediatrics.
While we would have all preferred to gather in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center to aid students, alumni, and miracle families in cause-connected fundraising and engagement efforts, we were able share our gratitude electronically on a much broader scale through various touch points on social media and through news outlets like The Independent Florida Alligator, The Gainesville Sun, and the University of Florida Foundation newsletter.