LEXINGTON, Ky. - An annual fundraiser by students at the University of Kentucky is pledging a $1 million gift over the next four years to help pediatric cancer patients. DanceBlue organizers made the announcement Friday with officials from UK Healthcare.
“For seven years we have gathered as a campus each spring to dance for 24 hours to fight for life, to become children again ourselves, and prove that together we can do something wonderful: give hope,” said student Ethan Ritter, who is chair of the 2013 DanceBlue event.
In recognition of the fundraising dance marathon, a clinic at Kentucky Children’s Hospital has been renamed the DanceBlue Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic. Donations will help fund a renovation of the clinic.
The initial idea for DanceBlue came from Jennifer Mynear, whose son Jarrett died at the age of 13 and was a patient at the clinic.
“[The students] have created and set a precedent for this state and for the children of this state to say ‘you deserve the best and we are going to take part of our lives to dedicate that to you,’” Mynear said.
The next DanceBlue fundraiser is set for February 22 at Memorial Coliseum.
