ORLANDO, FL — University of Central Florida students raised more than $1 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals this week. With strong support from the school’s fraternities and sororities, the year-long 2016 Knight-Thon dance marathon culminated with thousands dancing, rocking and swaying “to support the fighters, admire the survivors, and honor the taken.”

Like the ice-bucket challenge and other novel efforts, Millenniums and Generation Z’ers are making a powerful mark on the landscape of philanthropy with very different approaches than previous generations to engaging and inspiring contributions from peers, parents and community.

The 20-hour dance marathon began at Orlando’s CFE arena with the program’s student leader saying, “We stand for hope. We stand for honesty and strength. We dance for the kids who cannot be here today because they are still fighting their battles.”

University of Central Florida students hold up signs showing more than $1 million raised for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals at the 2016 annual Knight-Thon dance marathon in Orlando, Florida. (Eisenthesky Photo)

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Tagged as: Children's Miracle Network, dance marathon, Generation Z, Knight-Thon, philanthropy, University of Central Florida

Categorised in: American Life, Medicine, News, Nonprofit, philanthropy