On Saturday, Feb. 20, Sykes Ballroom held the Dragonfly Forest Dance Marathon fundraiser from 12 p.m to midnight.
Dragonfly Forest is a sleepaway camp for children with autism and other special medical needs.
Dragonfly Forest is an overnight camp experience for children who have endured many medical procedures and hospital stays.
The children also learn that they are not alone because they are surrounded by other campers who have experienced similar conditions or illnesses.
The campers have the chance to enjoy fun traditions in a safe and caring environment.
Children can participate in activities such as art, swimming, stargazing, tie-dye and sports.
They build bonds with counselors and other campers while making friendships that will last forever.
The dance marathon had music, dancing and activities such as playing corn hole, taking funny pictures, coloring, getting your face painted and hula-hooping.
Throughout the day, campers sang and shared their traditional camp songs and dances with all of us.
Later in the day, there was an event called Dragonfly, where nominees had pies thrown in their face on stage.
You could also put your name in the race to win fun baskets for multiple raffles.
If you were walking past Sykes and had the chance to stop in, you would see all of the colorful decorations, hear great music and see all of the people having a great time dancing.
Student Heidi Wolf shared her thoughts on the day.
“I thought it was a really well-planned event because they had so many different stations of activities and fantastic food,” said Wolf. “It was a really fun way to help others, as well as learn a lot about such a great cause.”
Attending this 12-hour dance marathon was thrilling. Everyone was having an enjoyable time.
The turnout was great and full of WCU students, Dragonfly campers, counselors, families and members of the West Chester community.
The dance marathon was a huge success and raisied over $28,000.
This was a very special event to participate in, and we were able to raise money for an incredible program while dancing our hearts out with some new camp friends.
Dragonfly Forest is definitely something to look up and learn more about.
To learn more about the program and how to help or donate, visit dragonflyforest.org.
Aileen Assumma is a second-year student majoring in English literature. She can be reached at AA823823@wcupa.edu.