DanceBlue Named One of Country's Biggest Fundraisers

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 9, 2013) — Eight is a lucky number for the University of Kentucky. It is not only the number of national championships that the University of Kentucky owns; it’s also where DanceBlue, the University of Kentucky’s dance marathon, ranks in thebestcolleges.org’s list of Top 10 Biggest College Fundraisers.

Released last week, the list highlights the Top 10 student-run philanthropy events on college campuses across the country. One of five dance marathons on the list, DanceBlue is proving to be a national leader. It is the “youngest” student-run event on the list and announced in December a $1 million commitment to the newly renamed DanceBlue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinic.

"We're honored to be recognized as one of the largest college fundraisers,” Ethan Ritter, 2013 DanceBlue overall chair, said. “We look forward to continuing our tradition of supporting efforts in the clinic to provide the best possible pediatric cancer care.”

DanceBlue is UK’s 24-hour no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon that benefits the Golden Matrix Fund and the Dance Blue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinic. Now in its eighth year, DanceBlue has raised more than $3.2 million for pediatric cancer research and children with cancer. Give to DanceBlue here and connect with DanceBlue on Facebook at www.facebook.com/danceblue and on Twitter at twitter.com/UKDanceBlue.

DanceBlue is a program housed in the UK Center for Community Outreach. The CCO seeks to serve, connect and unite the University of Kentucky with the surrounding community in collaborative efforts to promote life-long community service. For more information about the CCO, visit getinvolved.uky.edu/cco. Connect with the CCO on Facebook here and on Twitter at twitter.com/ukcco.

MEDIA CONTACT: Katy Bennett, katy.bennett@uky.edu, (859) 257-1909