14 Years of 24 Hours For the Kids

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 4, 2019)—Last night at 8 o'clock, nearly 1,000 University of Kentucky students jumped and cheered in response to the amazing work that came to fruition. With joyful hearts and tired feet, the dancers at the 2019 DanceBlue Marathon lasted 24-hours of no sitting and no sleeping in honor of the tireless pursuit of finding the cure for pediatric cancer!

In its 14th year, DanceBlue was ecstatic to reveal its fundraising total of $1,880,954.88. While the amount of money is always something amazing to recognize, DanceBlue doesn’t focus on how big or small that total is. DanceBlue focuses on the way that money can be used to support the children and families battling pediatric cancer in the DanceBlue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Hematology/Oncology Clinic.

Tyler Ward, DanceBlue overall chair, said “DanceBlue matters because cancer is real, and no one, especially a kid, should have to fight through it alone. At DanceBlue, we seek to provide hope, support and joy for the kids and their families. Although DanceBlue 2019 is over, DanceBlue never stops. We will continue to fight FTK!"

DanceBlue is UK's largest student-run philanthropy — a yearlong fundraising effort involving thousands of UK students, culminating in a 24-hour, no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon. All of the money raised by DanceBlue goes to the Golden Matrix Fund and cancer research. Since the organization's launch in 2006, DanceBlue has raised more than $15,301,853.23 for the kids, providing financial and emotional support for children and families living with childhood cancer.

DanceBlue students volunteer approximately 1,000 hours in the clinic each year. Every week, dozens of students produce smiles and laughter among patients and families during their medical visits at the clinic. Students selflessly give their time every day because of that one phrase that embodies the DanceBlue mission: "For The Kids."

DanceBlue is the University of Kentucky's 24-hour, no sitting, no sleeping dance marathon that benefits the Golden Matrix Fund. The DanceBlue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Hematology/Oncology Clinic opened its brand new facility in 2017 after a complete renovation funded solely from DanceBlue. For more information about DanceBlue, registration information or to support its efforts, please visit www.danceblue.org. Connect with DanceBlue on Facebook at www.facebook.com/danceblue and Twitter at http://twitter.com/UKDanceBlue.