Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

FTK raises over $30,000

FTK

For the Kids (FTK) volunteers kicked up their heels last Friday at the annual FTK Dance Marathon raising a total of $33,875.46.

Sponsors, dancers and over 200 volunteers committed 18 hours of their time and were able to triple the amount of donations compared to the previous year’s event. The money will be donated to San Antonio’s Christus Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital to benefit FTK’s 84 families.

The marathon is a charity event that supports young cancer victims in their fight against the disease-this high-energy celebration that honors families, recognizes participants and unites the community for one weekend supports one cause.

The third annual FTK Dance Marathon was held for the first time at the UTSA Convocation Center and turned out to be the most successful yet.

The dance marathon is also positioned to be the largest student-led philanthropic organization at UTSA, receiving over 2,500 “likes” on Facebook. FTK hopes their annual dance marathon will eventually become a city-wide event.

Established by the Leadership Challenge Class of 2009, FTK is a student-led organization that was created to ignite a united effort across the UTSA campus to support local families battling childhood cancers.

Sponsorship for the event came from the UTSA Honors College, UTSA Alumni Association, UTSA Center for Professional Excellence and Gurilla Marketing. Business Careers High School provided a large stage for dancers, refreshments, a dedicated family lounge and a wide array of games for the kids.

UTSA’s athletic teams competed in a dance contest in which the women’s track team won “The Baddest Dancers at UTSA” award. Rowdy, the UTSA mascot, even showed up to support the cause.

Attending the marathon for the first time, many family members and volunteers were amazed at the outcome.

“This (dance marathon) is incredible. Sometimes it’s not about the money raised, but about the involvement with all these young people,” one father observed. “If they can help only one family or one child, it’s going to make a difference. I’m impressed with young kids giving their time like this. I’m just so amazed with everything that’s going on here. I think y’all have done a tremendous job.”

Some volunteers were surprised and inspired by the energy of the patients attending the marathon.

“The biggest thrill was seeing these kids still have so much energy and not even think about what they’re going through,” an anonymous volunteer said. “It truly is inspiring when an organization is able to achieve something so significant and meaningful.”

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