Submitted by: Christina Brown
We come to UCLA because we want to make a difference in the world. We know that we want to leave the world different than when we came into it. UCLA Dance Marathon is a product of that incredible drive Bruins have.
Dance Marathon is a thriving UCLA tradition and is one of the largest student-run philanthropic events in the western United States. Every February, Bruins come together for a 26-hour event that raises awareness and hundreds of thousands of dollars for pediatric AIDS organizations.
The disease known today as AIDS was first discovered by UCLA physicians in 1981, and today, Dance Marathon continues the fight against this global pandemic. Every day, 1,000 children are infected with HIV. Sixty percent of all infants who are born with HIV do not live to their second birthday. This is simply inexcusable.
Dance Marathon is striving to change this statistic. It costs just $8 to buy a shot of Nevirapine, which may cut the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV considerably ““ just $8 to help prevent a baby from contracting HIV at birth.
Last year, participants raised an incredible $363,000 for Dance Marathon’s three beneficiaries: the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the country’s leading organization in pediatric AIDS research, education and support internationally, and two camps for children infected with or affected by HIV or AIDS.
Dance Marathon also works all year to educate the campus about AIDS, reduce its stigma and inform students about the devastating ferocity of the disease internationally.
There are many ways to contribute your time to this incredible cause: You can apply to be on the committee of 100 students that plans the event, or you can attend the event itself in February as a “dancer,” which entails raising money for our beneficiaries and showing your support for the cause by staying on your feet for the entire 26 hours of the event.
Close to a thousand students registered as dancers last year and walked away knowing that they had actually made a difference in the lives of so many. It is an experience like no other.
Each year since the first Dance Marathon, the event has grown in participants, and this year we are working more than ever to educate people about how to protect themselves and about the growing international crisis.
Dance Marathon is about so much more than dancing. More than anything else, it is about empowerment. It is about proving that we, as students, are not powerless against AIDS.
Come join us in literally taking a stand for this cause. All you have to give is your time.
For more information about how to get involved in Dance Marathon and the fight against pediatric AIDS, visit www.dancemarathon.ucla.edu. Brown is the 2009-2010 director of Dance Marathon.