Although the University’s Dance Marathon main event Ziggython isn’t until April, it’s never too early to start fundraising and raising awareness.

Dance Marathon held their annual fundraising dinner to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network on Friday night and the theme of the dinner was “A Time For Giving.”

“Dance Marathon is all about giving back to the Children’s Miracle Network to support the amazing miracle children and their families,” said Assistant Director of Admissions and MC of the event Erin Heilmeier. “This is the time for Dance Marathon to give back to our amazing community and institution. The funds raised by BGSU Dance Marathon directly help medical professionals and their work with the children they serve.”

By the end of the night, the dinner had raised a total of $7,285.41 through donations and bids on silent auction prizes such as an iPad Mini or a BGSU merchandise package. The money will go toward Mercy Children’s Hospital.

The event featured many speakers who all had a story to tell or share.

Bikes for Tikes creator Mark Johnston appeared on-screen during a pre-taped video segment as he was not able to attend due to conflicting schedules. He expressed his passion for Dance Marathon and all the efforts that go into making Dance Marathon a success.

“It’s very interesting how a simple idea like me riding my bike home from college after graduating, turned into something that still, 15 years later, continues to support children in need,” Johnston said.

Katie Stygles, a graduate research assistant at the University, spoke of her experience at Mercy Children’s Hospital. When she was pregnant with her twin boys, she was referred to a maternal fetal medicine doctor to investigate possible twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.

“Tonight I’m here to talk about how your philanthropic efforts help change lives, especially our lives,” Stygles said.

Stygles spoke about her stay at Mercy St. Vincent Hospital and she wanted to make it clear how great the hospital was during her pregnancy and her delivery of her

twin boys.

“Every day of their stay at Mercy Children’s Hospital, we were in awe of the doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, dieticians, all of the other incredible people who cared for them. Our babies literally not would have survived without them,” Stygles said.

Vice President of Student Affairs Jill Carr gave an oral history of Dance Marathon and detailed how far it’s come in raising money and awareness since its inception in 1995.

“This event, in my view, is the official kickoff for this year’s 2014-2015 Dance Marathon,” Carr said. “This is when it all gets started and is so visible to the rest of

the campus.”

Carr stressed the importance of the event and reminded those of the cause that Dance Marathon works toward every year.

“Everything these students do is truly for the kids.”

Dr. Ateeq Haseeb, pediatric neurology and epilepsy specialist of Mercy Children’s Hospital, spoke of importance of the fundraising efforts for Dance Marathon and how they help those that are truly in need.

“One thing speaks and that is we all have something in our heart, in common, that says we care,” Haseeb said. “We care for the children of our country, of this region and most of all, Northwest Ohio.”

Alison Doughty, director of Dance Marathon, wrapped up the dinner and she expressed the importance of the Dance Marathon member’s ability to “think differently.”

“By finding opportunity in places that most would deem opportunity-less. We push ourselves to be more and do more because we have a responsibility for that hospital of local children who are depending on us,” Doughty said. “We find opportunities in our challenges, we search for ways to turn our obstacles into resources.”

Doughty stressed how much the benefit dinner has grown and expressed her excitement for this

year’s event.

“I think this is the most moving benefit dinner I’ve been a part of so far,” Doughty said. “I think the greatest part was just the wide range of the audience. We had students, faculty, different departments, alumni, people from this hospital, community members and parents there and it’s really great because the people that came can take Dance Marathon back to their respected areas and that really helps spread the message on a massive scale. It’s our 20th year and we’re planning to do big things this year, as far as awareness goes and such, and I think that this a great kickoff event to do that.”