The RALLYTHON executive board holds up the grand total reveal, concluding this year’s event.
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Jonathan Rickwood, of Clarks Summit, who along with 47 teams and over 800 participants, helped the University of Vermont’s 6th annual student-led fundraising event RALLYTHON raise a record-breaking $140,813.29 for the UVM Children’s Hospital.
RALLYTHON is a student-led yearlong fundraiser which culminates in a 12-hour dance marathon, signifying the average length of a nurse’s shift at Vermont’s local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. During RALLYTHON, which took place on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, students heard stories from patient families treated at the UVM Children’s Hospital and engaged with champions — current and past patients of the hospital, while fundraising, participating in games, and dancing until the final reveal of their annual fundraising total.
Jonathan Rickwood spent the year as a RALLYTHON Participant, gaining leadership, teamwork, and non-profit business experience while raising funds and awareness of Vermont’s Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, which treats and provides life-saving care to sick and injured kids in need.
By the conclusion of this year’s dance marathon, Jonathan raised enough money to earn the distinction of ‘Miracle Maker’ — a title given to participants who have fundraised between $250 – $499 over the course of the year.
UVM’s RALLYTHON is organized in collaboration between UVM’s Department of Student Life and the UVM Medical Center. Through its five years in existence, participant students have raised over $500k for the UVM Children’s Hospital — 100% of which stays local to support local kids. This fundraised money is crucial to the support of patients at the UVM Children’s Hospital, and goes towards the purchase of everything from life-saving equipment and medicine to supplies meant to enhance the experience for patients and their families during their treatment.
