Natalie Northcutt danced in the marathon last year as a Freshman. This year, she wanted to do more and took on the role of UK DanceBlue public relations coordinator. She called the event life-changing.
"Coming to UK, it was really important for me to find a place where I could serve because that's something I'm super passionate about," Northcutt said. "After attending my first marathon, my life was tremendously changed, and so I knew it was something that I wanted to be involved with long-term. So I applied to be on committee and now I’m here and it’s just changed my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined."
The UK student-run 24-hour dance marathon began in 2006 to support pediatric cancer and honor Jarrett Mynear, a local child who battled cancer six times before passing away at age 13 in 2002. His final wish was to help the pediatric oncology clinic.
That first event raised just over $123,000, breaking records for a first-year dance marathon. The event, which requires dancers to stand for 24 hours, has grown into a major tradition, raising over $25 million for the DanceBlue Hematology/Oncology Clinic and is one of the most successful student-run philanthropies at the University of Kentucky.
