UNC students will dance through the night Friday to help raise money for the UNC Children’s hospital.

It’s the 18th Annual UNC Dance Marathon, hosted by the student non-profit, Carolina for the Kids.

More than 2,000 students are expected to participate in the event at UNC’s Fetzer gym.

Elizabeth Soffer is the Carolina for the Kids corporate marketing chair.

“A vast majority of our fundraising we are really proud to say comes from our dancers. So those are students, who at the beginning of October pledged to raise $150 and stand for 24 hours in solidarity with our families that this annual event,” said Soffer.

The proceeds from the event and from all of the Carolina for the Kids fundraisers will go to help families with children in treatment at UNC Hospitals by providing gas cards, meal vouchers and helping with bills.

Carolina for the Kids claims to be the largest student run nonprofit in the state. This year’s dance marathon is expected to be the largest so far in its 18 year history.

“So we are anticipating a much larger marathon than ever before which we are really excited about,” said Soffer.

On February 29th Carolina for the Kids held a telethon event and raised almost $50,000 in one day.

Even if you can’t dance, Soffer said there are still ways to get involved.

“Students can be engaged in the marathon not only as dancers but as motivators and volunteers as well, where they sign up for shorter shifts and they come in and help with some of the behind the scenes work. In addition to help keeping the energy up, keep dancers excited because that 24 hour stand can be pretty long sometimes but it’s an exciting event but a tiring one for a lot of people,” said Soffer.

The 24 hour marathon will kick off at 6:30 on Friday with special events happening throughout the day on Saturday, like a sunrise walk through Kennan Stadium and a talent show. The event will also feature dance and music performances from student groups.

You can donate to Carolina for the Kids.

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