Last month, schools across the Commonwealth joined forces to fight pediatric illness. UK’s DanceBlue, UofL’s Raise Red, and WKU’s Dance Big Red took part in the fourth annual Commonwealth Cup, a friendly competition to see which school could raise the most money for the cause. For a week, each school raised as much as possible, culminating in a total reveal with all three schools and a celebration of all the good work done.
Here in Lexington, DanceBlue put on a week of activities to engage the community and raise funds. The week kicked off with Meaning Monday. On this day, community members were encouraged to share their reason for dancing as we remembered Jarrett Mynear, the compassionate boy who sparked DanceBlue’s existence.
Tuesday was Togetherness Tuesday, in which DanceBlue reached out into the community to get all of Lexington involved. Local businesses- North Lime Donuts, Pasta Garage, Puccini’s, and Freshies- hosted fundraisers in which portions of all their sales were donated to DanceBlue. Students and community members alike packed these restaurants for a good meal, to support a good cause, and to spend time with friends.
On Wear It Wednesday, the Bluetique was up and running in the student center to make sure everyone was rocking the best DB merch. Thursday was DB for Kentucky Thursday. On this day we celebrated DanceBlue’s reach across the state and challenged dancers to raise 73 dollars for the 73 counties DanceBlue has served. Finally, Friday was Fundraising Friday when we pushed to raise $19,000 in one day in honor of DanceBlue’s 19th year.
To wrap up the week, all three schools meet in Elizabethtown to reveal the total fundraised. This year the total raised was $135,267, with $67,211.75 raised for the DanceBlue clinic. Fundraising Chair Alex Wesley, who helped plan the week, said, “I really enjoyed working with the other schools around the Commonwealth and discussing different ideas for how each marathon runs. It was fun to work together for a good cause and to help the state we love.”
