10C - New Student Edition

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

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PUTTING THE 'FUN' IN FUNDRAISING
Year after year,;University students raise thousands of dollars for charities, the most popular of which is C.S Mott Children's Hospital, located on the
Hill by Mary Markley Hall. Mock Rock, a hilarious lip-synching concert put on by the University's many student-athletes, and Dance Marathon, which is
well, just like it sounds, are two charities that bring in tons of money for Mott. And the participants have a blast doing it.

ovation at the end of its perfect-
ly choreographed "Space Jam"
routine.
Every member of the Toon
Squad from the movie was
present as Lola, Bugs, Taz and
Michael Jordan took on the
opposing Monstars. Wolverine
track star Adam Harris stood
out during the performance.
Embodying Mock Rock's bet-
ter performances, last night was
all about workingtogether.
Varsity and club teams, the
glee club, the cheerleading
squad and the dance team all
participated to in the fundrais-
ing event.
In addition to the Mott Hos-
pital, the proceeds from this
year's Mock Rock will also ben-
efit Smith's family.
While most of the evening
was light-hearted and filled with
laughter, the night opened with
a video tribute to Smith. Smith's
family made the trip from Ohio
and former teammates who no
longer attend the University
came back for the event.
Among them was Kiana
Stringfield, who was Smith's
roommate and teammate in
2005.
"I think that it's great to have
her family here so they can see
how much we love Joi," String-
field said.
Judges admired the tribute,
and the women's track team
garnered a perfect score of 50
to win the competition. The
team dedicated its performance
"Joiful Joiful," to Smith, alter-
ing the spelling of a song from
"Sister Act II" to match Smith's
name.
Michael Parke, a senior on
the soccer team and one of the
event's organizers, said the
event earned about $27,000, not
including walk-up sales - up
from about $19,000 last year.

Dance Marathon
a campus staple

Mock Rock is a fundraiser in which student-athletes perform silly skits set to music.

Students stand and
dance for 30 straight
hours for charity
By IVY WEI
Por theDaily
Mar. 17, 2008 - Ross School of
Business junior Kaitlyn Ortberg's
enthusiasm for Dance Marathon is
contagious.
Ortberg,the event's dpvelopment
chair, remained on her feet at the
Indoor Track and Field Building
for 30 straight hours this weekend
while dancing and watching - the
culmination of months of work.
At Dance Marathon, a student
run, nonprofit organization that
raises money for rehabilitation
therapy for children, dancers stand
and perform for a total of 30 hours.
Each participant in the marathon
pledges to raise at least $300, which
goes to C.S. Mott's Children Hospi-
tal and William Beaumont Hospi-
tal.
Although the program's main
event takes place within a two-day
span, Dance Marathon is a yearlong
commitment, requiring months
of planning and organizing. Event
organizers began holding fundrais-
ing events for the program in Sep-
tember. Dancers can sign up and
raise money anytime before the
marathon.
During the event, held from 10
a.m. Saturday to 4 p.m. Sunday,
a combination of energetic back-

M' athletes take the stage

Varsity athletes
showcase their goofy
side at Mock Rock
By JILLIAN ROTHMAN
Daily Sports Writer
Feb. 14, 2008 - The Michigan
hockey team may be No. 1 in the
national polls again, but according
to head football coach Rich Rodri-
guez last night, the team deserved

Rodriguez was one of six judges
at last night's 9th annual Mock
Rock, a competition in which Uni-
versity student-athletes perform
stage acts to raise money for the
C.S. Mott Children's Hospital:
Besides Rodriguez, Mock Rock's
judges included former Michigan
diver Bonnie Kulp, former Wol-
verine football great Jamie Mor-
ris and University Professor John
Bacon. The event was hosted by
Jason and Randy Sklar, University
alums and hosts of ESPN's Cheap

While Rodriguez gave the
hockey team a perfect mark fpr its
performance - he admitted with a
laugh that he'd been bribed to do
so - the other judges didn't enjoy
the team's rendition of "Dirty
Dancing."
The women's track and field
team won over the judges and
the competition, paying tribute to
teammate Joi Renee Smith, who
died from cancer in November.
With an almost-perfect score of
49, the second-place men's track

ground music, vibrant decora-
tions corresponding to themes that+
changed every six hours and hun-
dreds of animated participants.
Craft tables, volleyball, study
tables, ping-pong, morale teams,
and line dancing - along with a
live feed camera crew to document
the occasion - helped keep the
30-hour marathon from becoming
monotonous.
During the event, participants
enjoyed the company ofthe children
and their families, dancingtoupbeat
music alongside the dancers, eating
meals with each other and engaging
in various sports and activities.
Dance Marathon's Central
Planning Team plans new events
throughout the year to allow chil-
dren and family to interact with
dancers.
"We see somethinggreat,andwe
want to do it better. We figure out a
way to make it work, and then we
can take the energy and manpower
to do it." Ortberg said.
After the countdown to the
end of the event, dancers took a
much-needed sit. When the total
amount of money raised was finally
announced, dancers shot back up to
their feet, cheering and applauding
thunderously. A total of $428,109.79
was raised this year - an increase
of almost $75,000 from last year's
event.
Dance Marathon has raised a
total of $2.4 million over the past
11 years.
LSA senior Steve Crompton,
the event's external director said
he would like to see the program
expand to more hospitals in the
future, specifically in the Detroit
and Flint areas. The Dance Mara-
thon's Operations Organizational
Team is evaluating the most effec-
tive way to do it, he said.
Art and Design senior Ellen
Creal, who participated in the mar-
athon as a dancer, said she had been
looking forward to the event since
November, when she first started
raising money.
"The impact is huge," she said.
"You really have the ability to con-
nect with the families."

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