UCLA Dance Marathon’s week-long Dancer Registration Drive will begin today, aiming to encourage more students to register early for February’s dance-a-thon. Dance Marathon representatives will make announcements and hand out posters on Bruin Walk, on- and off-campus housing areas, and Westwood to publicize the registration.
The decision to push early registration was made by Dance Marathon’s dancer relations committee in order to boost the number of early registrations before the Dec. 5 deadline.
“Dance Marathon registration began on Oct. 29, and registering early will allow individuals to have more time to fundraise, attend fundraising events hosted by Dance Marathon, and ultimately spread awareness about Pediatric AIDS,” said Committee Director Lauren Poblete.
Registering early will also allow individuals to pay a discounted price of $20 instead of the original $30 cover charge, Poblete added.
Dance Marathon is a 26-hour annual dance-a-thon organized by UCLA students to aid in the global fight against pediatric AIDS and is the largest student-run philanthropic event on the West Coast. The event has raised approximately $1.3 million for its beneficiaries since its inception in 2001, according to the UCLA Dance Marathon Web site.
Dance Marathon Residential Life and Greek Relations committee members will make announcements in residence hall floor meetings and Greek house meetings, as well as make efforts on the Hill. Representatives will be at Hedrick Hall from 5 to 7 p.m. to answer any Dance Marathon questions and to do on-the-spot early registrations, said Danny Cowan, executive director of Dance Marathon at UCLA.
Registration tables will be stationed nightly throughout the week in dining halls, residence hall lounges and on-campus restaurants such as Puzzles and Bruin Cafe.
Other Dancer Registration Drive events include Tuesday’s “Ribbon and Condom Blitz,” in which representatives will be passing out buttons, ribbons and condoms on campus.
“Facebook Frenzy” takes place on Wednesday, in which Dance Marathon supporters will promote the event through status updates, photos and messages.
Thursday marks Dance Marathon’s Campus and Community Day, wherein representatives will be handing out flyers on campus and in Westwood. “Bruin Plaza Day” is the last registration drive event, held on Friday, Poblete said.
Last year, there were 812 early registrations for Dance Marathon and there are hopes for a greater number this year, Dance Marathon directors said.
“We look forward to our highest student involvement yet for 2009,” said Taylor Wirth, assistant director of Dance Marathon at UCLA.
“Last year, over half our dancers at the event were those who registered in the final weeks of fall quarter.”
Registering early is beneficial because Winter Break is a great time to fundraise and enables dancers to talk to family members and friends about Dance Marathon, Cowan said.
“It is truly a remarkable display of UCLA’s continued commitment to philanthropy and student activism,” Cowan said.
Poblete expressed her high hopes for the upcoming event.
“Dance Marathon 2009 is going to be bigger and better,” she said.
“We plan to have more activities for the dancers, better celebrities and bands … as well as raising more money than ever before.”