Lafayette College will hold its 19th annual 24-hour Dance Marathon April 9-10 to benefit The Children's Home of Easton and the Spring Garden Children's Center.
All members of the community are welcome to participate in the event, which kicks off at 7 p.m., Friday, April 9, and will conclude 24 hours later. It will be held in Alumni Memorial Gymnasium, at the corner of High and Hamilton Streets.
The event is sponsored by Kappa Delta Rho fraternity and Pi Beta Phi sorority. Seniors Ralph Schipani of Guildford, Conn.; Shannon Iorio of Rye, N.Y.; and Lindsay Suthard of Lake Forest, Ill., are chairpersons. For information or to make a contribution, call Schipani, (610) 923-6536.
The event raised $8,500 last year for the Children's Home and the Spring Garden center.
“The Dance Marathon allows Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Delta Rho to combine forces to give back to the community,” says Suthard, a psychology major.
“I am excited about this year's Dance Marathon,” says Schipani, a double major in economics and business and government and law who is cochair for the second straight year. “Although the event was a success last year, I saw an opportunity to promote campus unity through greater participation in a worthwhile event.”
Live music, a professional DJ and a host of student DJ's will help supply adrenaline as dancers boogie for 24 hours. The headline group, Dr. Cheeko's Island Band, is scheduled to play from 11 p.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday.
“The band plays an eclectic mix of reggae and pop that will appeal to people of all ages,” says Kappa Delta Rho's Stephan Cesarini, a senior from Saylorsburg, Pa., who is responsible for bringing the band to Lafayette.
A lip-synch contest at 3 p.m. Saturday will feature entrants from campus and the community, with prizes for all.
“The lip-synch is my favorite part of the Dance Marathon,” says Schipani. “The kids are absolutely hysterical and you can see how much fun everyone is having.”
For the first time, all members of the community and the Lafayette campus are invited to a brunch from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
“This will allow faculty and others to get a first-hand look at what we are trying to accomplish,” says Iorio, a double major in economics and business and government and law.