UADM Raises More Than $303,000 for Children’s of Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama Dance Marathon raised $303,126 over the past year for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham.

The student-led organization announced the fundraising total after a virtual version of its annual BAMAthon dance marathon Feb. 27.

“The pandemic has forced everyone on campus to get creative, but for Dance Marathon, it’s also forced us to be resilient,” said Josh Britt, UADM president. “In all honesty, every single dollar raised this year was something we didn’t expect, and something we wanted to celebrate.

“Raising money in any year is difficult, but for students, families and donors to be so incredibly supportive of the cause when we would’ve completely understood if they needed a year for themselves, it just means the world.”

Now in its 10^th year, UADM has raised close to $2 million for Children’s of Alabama.

“Something that has really been the foundation of our year was the phrase ‘Kids Can’t Wait,’” said Britt. “For us, this means the patients and families at Children’s of Alabama don’t get to wait for a vaccine to rollout to get back to fighting for their health. These patients and families don’t get to take it easy, hop on Zoom and zone out during their hospital stays. They don’t get to take a break, and for that reason, neither should we.

“That’s why we worked so hard for a virtual event this year, because if ‘Kids Can’t Wait,’ then neither can we.”

Dance Marathon is part of a nationwide movement that involves college and high school students who raise money for local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. UADM was created in 2011 with the mission of providing yearlong support for children being treated at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham.