When head line monitor Greg Skidmore offers a grace period for an event, it is certainly one to attend. On March 2, tenters for the men's basketball game against North Carolina and others will have the opportunity to attend the 1,001 Nights dance marathon.
Event chairs hope the marathon, which also took place two years ago, will pay for 1,001 nightly stays at the Caring House, a home for adult cancer patients receiving outpatient treatment at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.
This year's event came about when the house's board of directors approached the Duke University Union--a previous sponsor--and the Panhellenic Council. The two organizations felt they could not handle the responsibility by themselves, and Panhel sent representatives to different sororities to find volunteers.
Senior Kristen Kneier, one of the event's primary organizers, heard about the marathon at a Kappa Kappa Gamma meeting. She persuaded fall graduates Beth Marhoffer and Virginia Sinclair to help her.
"My best friend from home was diagnosed with cancer, so it had personally touched my life," Kneier said. "I knew that I wanted to get involved." Kneier also established McKids, a group of students that visits and plays with children at the Ronald McDonald House every week.
The marathon will feature dance instructors from swing, salsa, blues, Irish dance and Argentine tango at both its morning and afternoon sessions. A disc jockey will spin the entire day, and the Duke University Improv will emcee the event with On Tap and Lady Blue as guest performers. Dancers need a sponsorship of $25 to enter the event. Groups are encouraged to participate, and Panhel has encouraged sorority pledge classes to enter together.
Sinclair and Marhoffer agreed that their own experiences with friends and loved ones dealing with cancer convinced them to participate.
"Finding out that there was a place like Caring House in Durham made me want to support it," Sinclair said. "Not many people know about it, and we wanted to get the word out. It's an amazing organization."
Opened 10 years ago, Caring House provides accommodations for 18 cancer patients and their caregivers through a donation of $25 per night. Patients are usually referred there by Duke's oncology department.
Each patient at the house, which is usually about 95 percent full, has a private bedroom and bathroom and shares a kitchen and library.
"Guests that stay here benefit from being here versus a hotel or private apartment. They have the benefit of other guests so they can support each other," said Meg Alverson, executive director of the house. "You can't find that secluded in your own private room. That is something real special that we offer."
The chairs of the dance marathon have already raised $10,000 of their $25,000 goal. "I hope to accomplish the goal but even if we don't, setting a precedent for the future and having kids build upon what we've done is important," Sinclair said.
The dance marathon has found support not only from student groups like the Interfraternity Council, Black Student Alliance and Mi Gente, but from the faculty as well.
"I am very impressed with the organizational skills of all these students. It is a wonderful example of student initiative and caring and energy," said event faculty adviser Judith Ruderman, vice provost for academic and administrative services.
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