UK’s 24-hour dance marathon, DanceBlue, will return for it’s 11th year on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. 

DanceBlue is a yearlong fundraising effort that leads up to the event of the year, where students stand for 24 hours straight without any sleep breaks, while dancing to their heart’s content and participating in games and community service. 

This year, DanceBlue will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 and will last until 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26. 

The DanceBlue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Hematology/Oncology clinic is opening this coming January. 2017’s DanceBlue will serve as a celebration of the opening. 

Since DanceBlue began in 2006, it has raised over $8 million For The Kids and they don’t seem to be stopping any time soon. 

The money raised at DanceBlue each year is donated to the Golden Matrix Fund, which then supports the kids of the DanceBlue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic. The money donated also goes towards research done at the Markey Cancer Center. 

Students from all different organizations throughout UK’s campus get involved in DanceBlue each year. It is a great way to bring the entire college community together.

Molly Scholes, a nursing student at UK, is participating in DanceBlue for her first time this year. Scholes will have her peers and friends beside her during this 24-hour dance marathon as she is dancing through the college of nursing.

“I am most excited about getting to meet the kids that we are dancing for simply because I think it will really make all the work we put into this night worth it,” said Scholes. 

To learn more about DanceBlue, information on registration, or to donate to its efforts, visit danceblue.org. You can also connect with DanceBlue through Facebook at Facebook.com/danceblue and on Twitter at twitter.com/UKDanceBlue.