Buckeyethon History
BuckeyeThon was conceived in the mind of Rosa Ailabouni in 2000. Rosa wanted to give back to her community by creating an activity that could contribute money to the local Children's Hospital. Inspired by the success of other universities dance marathons, she set out to make her dream of a Buckeye dance marathon a reality. Rosa brought her plan to the attention of Don Stenta, Assistant Director of The Ohio State University Ohio Union. Don immediately hopped on board, pledging his time and assistance to Rosa. Don and Rosa set the date for the first Buckeye Dance Marathon as February 1st and 2nd, 2002. They also decided to name Ohio State's dance marathon "BuckeyeThon."
Throughout the summer and the following school year, the Steering Committee, a group of individuals volunteering to organize the event, worked long and hard to ensure its success. All too soon, February 1st was upon the Steering Committee. Seeing their hard work come together, Steering greeted the dancers with a fog filled, loud, and dramatic opening as they counted down to the beginning of BuckeyeThon 2002 at 7:00pm. Soon over 100 dancers were jamming, having fun, and enjoying "A Party With A Purpose." 26 hours passed quickly and it was soon time to announce the BuckeyeThon 2002 donation amount. With $32,474.51 raised, BuckeyeThon 2002 was a huge success!
The BuckeyeThon tradition has continued to work to raise money for Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Children's Miracle Network. The funds they have raised have gone to great use in the halls of the hospital, and the great works accomplished there every day only encourage BuckeyeThon to work even harder!
Currently, BuckeyeThon, a 14-hour dance marathon, is approaching its seventh year! It has raised almost $200,000 for Nationwide Children's Hospital over the past five years and is looking for help from people like YOU to make this the best year yet! This year's event will be held on February 28th and March 1st, 2009.
If you are interested in helping, please contact us for more information. Just remember...It's all for the kids!
