Appalachian’s 2018 Dance Marathon raises over $42K for local nonprofits

BOONE, N.C. — More than 200 faculty, staff and students found their groove on the dance floor of Appalachian State University’s Legends Saturday, Feb. 24, during the 2018 Dance Marathon. The marathon was coordinated by Appalachian and the Community Together (ACT).

The 15th annual 15-hour event raised $42,696.46 to benefit two local nonprofit organizations — Parent to Parent Family Support Network-High Country (FSN-HC), which is housed in the university’s Reich College of Education, and Western Youth Network (WYN). Both organizations provide essential services to children and their families in Watauga County and the High Country of Western North Carolina.

To participate, students registered and pledged to raise a minimum of $150 or $10 per hour of dancing. In 2017, nearly 200 dancers participated and raised $39,088.90.

“The commitment from the students is incredible. Dance Marathon funds have kept our program alive in three counties for years now,” said Kaaren Hayes, director and coordinator of Parent to Parent FSN-HC.

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About Appalachian and the Community Together (ACT)

Appalachian and the Community Together (ACT) provides service experiences as opportunities to connect and engage with others to build authentic relationships, stimulate critical thinking and skill building, and recognize individual impact and responsibility to the local and global community. Between the 2004–05 and 2018–19 academic years, nearly $25.5 million of value has been contributed to the community via Appalachian State University’s Appalachian and the Community Together (ACT) program (over 1.91 million hours of service plus $781,419 in funds raised) using the $25.43 per hour national standard for volunteer time. ACT partners with over 160 local nonprofits. Initiatives include blood drives, hunger and homeless awareness events, fundraising for local charities and alternative service experiences. Learn more at https://act.appstate.edu.

About Parent to Parent Family Support Network-High Country

Parent to Parent Family Support Network-High Country (FSN-HC) provides free support, caring connections, information and hope to families who have a premature baby, a child with a disability, an emotional or behavioral challenge, a mental illness or a chronic health condition, and to families who are grieving the death of a child. The program serves seven counties in Western North Carolina: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey. Parent to Parent FSN-HC provides information and tools to help families see the possibilities for their children and turn that potential into reality. Learn more at https://parent2parent.appstate.edu.

About the Western Youth Network

The Western Youth Network (WYN) is a Boone-based nonprofit organization that invests in the lives of children and youth in order to build a better future and a stronger community for the High Country. WYN provides unique and quality programming that offers individualized support to hundreds of High Country children and youth, including substance abuse prevention, mentoring and after-school programming, as well as summer camps.

About the Reich College of Education

Appalachian offers one of the largest undergraduate teacher preparation programs in North Carolina, graduating about 500 teachers a year. The Reich College of Education enrolls approximately 2,400 students in its bachelor's, master's, education specialist and doctoral degree programs. With so many teacher education graduates working in the state, there is at least one RCOE graduate teaching in every county in North Carolina. Learn more at https://rcoe.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the state of North Carolina, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls more than 19,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.

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