NACURH, Inc.Month/Year:02/03

PROGRAM OF THE MONTH

Program Category (Please check only one):

Community Service x Educational ______Social ______Diversity _____

Nominee's School:St. John FisherRegion:Neacurh

Program Title:Teddi dance for love

Person(s) in charge of program:

melissa ziegler and stephanie sodeman

Address:teddi office

3690 east avenue

rochester, ny14618

Phone:(585)385-8000

E-MAIL:

Target population (in numbers):1000

Number of people in attendance:300

Number of people needed to organize:28

On campus population:1180

Nominator:Jason n. marsherall

Address:box 302

3690 east avenue

rochester, ny14618

Phone:(585)899-6456

E-MAIL:

Time needed to organize:10 months

Date(s) of program:2/21-2/22/03

Cost of program:none, money raised through donations

Please give a short description of the program (nOT TO EXCEED 400 WORDS):

Origin of program: The Teddi Dance for Love is now in its 21st year. The dance was started in 1982, by Professor Lou Buttino, and a few dozen students. Their goal was to raise money for dancing for 24 straight hours in the gym at St. JohnFisherCollege. The dance was going to be held in memory of Elizabeth “Teddi” Mervis. Teddi was the daughter of Gary Mervis, who coached football at Saint John Fisher; she died of cancer in February 1982. Mervis was more than just a football coach though; he started Camp Good Days and Special Times in 1979. The camp was designed to give children with cancer and other terminal diseases the chance to do things that healthy kids do. Now the camp brightens the lives of thousands of children every summer. The dance itself, donates money to something called “The Teddi Project.” This project helps give children who are very ill, a chance to do something they’ve always wanted to do: a trip to Disneyworld, meeting a celebrity, or riding in a fire truck among others. The fund for the Teddi Project insures that no child’s needs will go unmet. The hundreds of dancers and volunteers that participate in the dance, and raise money are all doers of great deeds in our community. The Saint JohnFisherCollege community prides itself on being a community of service that cares for the greater community. The Teddi Dance for Love is one of the biggest ways that we show it’s true.

WORD COUNT (400 maximum): ___250

Goals of the program:The primary goal of the program of the dance each year is to raise as much money for the Teddi Project and Camp Good Days and Special Times as possible. The teddi committee, the group that runs the dance, starts every year without a budget, and has to rely simply on donations and fundraising efforts to pull off the event. It seems impossible, but each year, we receive the sound and lighting equipment for free, dj’s and several bands donate their time, our campus food service bon appetit, donates breakfast, lunch, and dinner along with orange slices, and water to the dancers. We have volunteers come and help with registration, security, food preparation, all the things that the committee cannot do while they are dancing. This year though, the committee had a few extra goals. There had been a perception on campus in years past, that if you weren’t dancing the whole 24 hours, you weren’t welcome in the gym. This year’s committee helped nip that stigma in the bud, and the response from the Fisher community was overwhelmingly positive.

WORD COUNT (200 maximum): 180

Positive and lasting effects of the program: The most important positive and lasting effect that we can hope the program has is in the faces of the kids. Campers from Camp Good Days and Special Times come to the dance each year. Some able to dance only a few hours, other participating the entire time. It is through their perseverance of living each day with cancer, and then showing up to dance with us, that gets many of our dancers through the night. It is certainly not an easy thing to do, dance for 24 hours straight. Yet somehow, thousands of college students, and others from various walks of life have participated. This years dance saw participation from all kinds of different campus clubs, organizations, staff and faculty members, college offices, departments, and alumni. Whatever the contribution, it has helped the campus bond into a strong family.

WORD COUNT (200 maximum): 147

Short evaluation of the program: All told there were over 300 dancers and volunteers that participated in the 2003 dance. That is nearly double the amount of people that were able to participate last year. $20, 457 were raised for the Teddi Project. Although preparation for the dance goes year-round, the real work gets done in February. From making final reservations, to blowing up hundreds of balloons for the giant balloon arch that hangs over the gym, this program is the heart and soul of Fisher in February. The dance is held each year on a Friday night from 8pm until Saturday night at 8pm. Counting recovery time, the dance takes up mostly the entire weekend. Our dancers could be doing any number of things during this weekend each year. Instead though, they choose to raise money, come to the gym, and dance their hearts out for kids that aren’t as lucky as themselves. No one is forced to dance, but those that do, and complete the entire thing, leave with a feeling of love that no written explanation could truly explain.

WORD COUNT (200 maximum): 178

How could this be adapted to other campuses? Each other pocketfuls of dancers from other schools come and join us, and each year people ask: How can I do this at my school? By adopting our format, and modifying it to their own campuses wants and needs is one way. Many schools that have visited us have started mini-marathons of 8 or 12 hours to start. It is not a difficult event to pull off, rather one that simply requires a committed effort by a group of people. No one should ever try to undertake this event with only a very small group of people though. The committee at Saint John Fisher is 28 people. Although a dance could be completed with a lot less help, each member of our committee had something valuable to contribute. Our dance for love chair, encourages anyone interested in forming their own dance-a-thon to talk to someone at St. John Fisher, or participate in a dance to get a feel for it first.

Nominations must be typed in a readable font on this form in the space provided above and each area must not exceed 200 words unless otherwise specified. Nominations not following this format may not be considered for a national award. No additional material will be considered. Nominations must be postmarked to the NRHH Regional Associate Director by the 15th of the month following the month of nomination.

Revised May1999

WORD COUNT (200 maximum): 161