Terp Thon Times

January 2014 | Issue One | Volume One

University of Maryland Student-Run Philanthropy

Its that dancing thing, right?

ore than 1,000 Terps woke up on one Saturday

morning in March and pledged to stand for 12
hours while dancing for those who cannot. One
might ask What wakes college students before noon? or
How do you make young adults devote their Saturday to
charity? The answer is Terp Thon.

Terp Thon holds the title of the largest student-run
philanthropy in Maryland, and it raises funds and awareness
for Childrens National Health System in Washington, D.C.,
until its culminating event, the 12-hour dance marathon.

Last year, Terp Thon raised almost $430,000, breaking
the fifth year Dance Marathon fundraising record by more
than $70,000, which no other organization has broken since
1999.

Every year since its inception in 2010, Terp Thon has
smashed the record for that ages Dance Marathon, and, as of
2014, it is the youngest Top 10 Dance Marathon in the U.S.

I think it is amazing that Terp Thon has grown so
much in the past few years, and it is exactly why I wanted to
join Terp Thon in the first place, Farah Benahmed, senior
psychology major, human development minor and events
committee member, said. It is filled with passionate and
driven individuals who will stop at nothing to keep Terp Thon
growing at an accelerating rate.
According to The
Table of Contents
Diamondback, Matthew Young
and Brianna Russo, both 2010
Page 1:
graduates from the university,
Its that dancing thing, right?
founded Terp Thon in 2009.
Because of the immense amount
Page 2:
of planning, they did not execute
Spotlight: AmyVaccaro
&
the first Dance Marathon until
The True Miracles
the next year. It proved to be
worth the wait when the 2010
Page 3:
fundraising total was revealed,
When Life Gives You Color
and they realized that Terp Thon
Page 4:
broke its first record raising more
Dance for Those Who Cant
than $53,000.

This year, the organizations goal is to raise $600,000,
which is almost $170,000 more than last year. Originally, the
executive board set the goal at $500,000, but they revealed the
new target at Color Run For The Kids.

Students dance during power hour at the Dance Marathon in 2014.

Photo by: Chelsea Bonenberger

We raised our goal from $500,000 to $600,000
because we felt that we were selling ourselves short with
$500,000, Azita Nejaddehghan, junior kinesiology major and
fundraising chair of Terp Thon, said. To be clich, we chose
$600,000 because we wanted to shoot for the stars.

Despite the ambitious fundraising goal, Terp Thon
members are as motivated and positive as ever to raise the
most money possible for the kids of Childrens National.

m uc
w
o
H

h is you

r donation w
orth
?

$120
$240
$500
$750

10 packs of diapers

$1,000

84 meal tickets

48 toiletry kits
45 Mr. Potato Heads
3,600 bath products

Two

Spotlight: Amy Vaccaro

Ring-ring. Her email
notifications startle her awake. She
reaches over, grabs her cellphone
and puts it on vibrate. Buzz-buzz.
It is a lost cause. The clock reads
7:34 a.m., but the duties of the
executive director of Terp Thon
never sleep in.

Amy Vaccaro, executive
director of Terp Thon, oversees
every aspect of the studentrun philanthropy while
pursuing a bachelors degree in
communication with a focus in
public relations and a Spanish
minor. Her involvement began
as a dancer her freshman year,
and it sparked her passion for the
organization.

Vaccaro ascended through
the executive board. She moved
from her position as a captain on
the advertising committee, to the
chair of the advertising committee
and now the executive director of
Terp Thon.

I just fell in love with
the organization and wanted
to move up and take on more
responsibilities, Vaccaro said.

Her responsibilities include
managing three directors, the
14-member executive board and 120
committee members. She also works
with the hospital liaison and Terp
Thons faculty advisor to maintain
good relationships with Childrens
National Health System and the
university.

All of Terp Thons efforts
culminate at the dance marathon, but
Vaccaro desires something more than
just reaching the fundraising goal.

One of my personal goals is
to get UMD students excited about
Terp Thon, not just the fundraising
aspect, but want to stand for the 12
hours, she said. Giving up one day
to spend with the miracle families is
so worth it.

Vaccaro coordinates with her
executive board, writes tens of emails
every day and leads several weekly
meetings, but the energy she devotes
to Terp Thon has benefitted the
organization and herself.

Terp Thon has changed my
life, she said. It makes me a better
person, and it has taught me so much
about myself and others.

The True Miracles

A miracle is a very amazing or unusual
event, thing or achievement, according to
Merriam-Webster dictionary. Terp Thons
Miracle Kids and their families embody every
facet of the word miracle, and they are an
ever-present reminder to live, and not to just
be alive.

Terp Thons Miracle Families have close
relationships with Terp Thon, and they come
to its events such as Color Run For The Kids,
the dance marathon and the Halloween party.
This year, Terp Thon has 23 Miracle Families,
said Maryam Abutaleb, the hospital relations
chair, and she hopes that every one of them will
attend the dance marathon.

Nobel dances at the dance marathon surrounded

by participants.
Photo credit: Terp Thon

It would be amazing for everyone to
get the chance to see every family we support
and put faces to all the names, she said.

Nobel is one of Terp Thons Miracle
Kids, and his story sounds different than most.
He had an accident with a lawn mower when
he was 6 years old that ripped away his Achilles
tendon and calf muscle. The blade missed the
major artery in his leg by 1 millimeter. His
parents rushed him to Childrens where doctors
amputated his leg below the knee, leaving him
with a prosthetic leg, Abutaleb said.

Because of Childrens, Nobel is now a
healthy, happy, high-spirited boy with the same
abilities as any other kid his age.

Nobles story is such a perfect example
of how Childrens National helps every single
kind of injury or illness with children and does
not just specialize in one thing, Abutaleb said.
They are truly incredible.

When Life Gives You Color,

RUN WITH IT

Three

to registration. Those who were willing to donate $30 earned

Dyed cornstarch, smoky barbeque and white T-shirts
registration, a Swag Bag and Bills Backyard Bar-B-Que,
filled McKeldin Mall Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014, for Terp
which catered the event after the race. However, runners
Thons third annual Color Run For The Kids to benefit
could still purchase barbeque for $7 at the event.
Childrens National Health System.

Three Miracle Children and their families attended.

Color Run For The Kids is one of many Terp Thon
They assembled the sea of
events throughout the year.
students in white T-shirts to
The organization used the
listen to their stories. The
national Color Run event as
Miracle Kids expressed their
inspiration for its 2.2 mile
gratitude for the runners
run through the campus.
participation and for Terp
Participants wore white
Thon
shirts and were misted with

Dont think for one
dry color powder at various
minute that the contribution
locations throughout the
you guys make isnt helping
course to tint their shirts.
anybody or hasnt done

I thought the color
anything for anybody,
run was a successful event,
said Jordan Mosby. When
said Mara Bernstein, a
Jordan was 8 years old, he
senior journalism major and
underwent two surgeries
events chair of Terp Thon.
Jordan
and
his
brother,
Zane,
give
a
speech
at
Color
Run
For
The
Kids.
to combat a sinus infection
It was our third year doing
Photo credit: Terp Thon
that spread to his brain. He had to
it, but it was a week earlier
relearn to walk and talk, but now
this year. A week earlier inherently means one less week to
he is a senior on the honor roll at Bishop McNamara High
sign people up, but we still had a great turnout.
School.

About 1,000 students registered for the run. They

Terp Thon plans on continuing the Color Run For
donated $15 to join in the race, and the first 500 registered
The Kids tradition next year, but for now, all brainpower is
received a free Color For The Kids T-shirt. If students
focused on the dance marathon in March.
decided to offer $25, then they got a Swag Bag in addition
Terp Thons
Fundraising $450,000
Totals
$400,000
$350,000
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
Terp Thon
University of
Wisconsin
University of
Michigan
University of
Iowa

$100,000
$50,000
Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

The graph represents Terp Thons fundraising total for each year since its inception
compared to the fundraising total of the record it broke for that ages dance marathon.
Credit: Chelsea Bonenberger

Four

Dance for Those Who Cant

he bass of the beat pounds in your chest. Vibrant

lights beam in every direction. Sweaty bodies jump
and dance in synchronization. Your back hurts, your
feet ache and chances are, you have been standing for about
eight hours now. This is not a rave or a concert; this is Terp
Thon.
Terp Thons biggest
event is its dance
marathon. The dance
marathon is the final day
of fundraising, and it
represents the efforts Terp
Thon has dedicated to the
Miracle Kids of Childrens
National Health System.
Dancers at the event
pledge to stand for 12
hours, which represents
the 12-hour shifts nurses
work at the hospital.
However, Terp Thon fills
the day with activities
Dancers learn the morale dance in
to
distract
the weary dancers
Ritchie Coliseum.
Photo by: Chelsea Bonenberger
from the clock.
Every so often, the morale
committee takes the stage to teach a section of the morale
dance, and by the end of the night, everyone knows the
choreography and can move simultaneously to the beat.
Next, the Miracle Kids gift the dancers with a talent show.
The kids fearlessly perform songs, dances and gymnastic
routines for the masses. Along with small games and
fundraising techniques throughout the event, the attendees
participate in power hour, which is an hour-long dance party
complete with glow sticks, strobe lights and beach balls.

As the time nears midnight, the dancers begin to
convene in front of the stage. The weight of what is about
to happen brings a heavy silence to Ritchie. Everyone hears
the words, And your Terp Thon grand total is echo
through the rafters, and the air is sucked out of the room like
a vacuum. One by one, the executive chair members flip their
numbers, revealing the total until the first number is shown.
This is the moment when each person in the room realizes the
gravity of his or her service.

Being in the room when it turns midnight and
fundraising total is revealed, is one indescribable moment,
Amy Vaccaro, executive director of Terp Thon said. I want
everyone to experience that feeling, knowing that we helped
improve the lives of so many kids and families at Childrens
National.
After
celebrating, all
of the dancers
make a huge circle
and place their
arms around each
others shoulders.
Everyone sways to
the song I Hope
You Dance by Lee
Ann Womack while
reflecting on the
number of children
who will be affected All of the dancers at the dance marathon
celebrate the 2014 fundraising total.
by the money raised Photo by: Chelsea Bonenberger
this year.

This moment reminds dancers why they have
sacrificed their Saturday. This is why Terp Thon does what it
does.

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