End of Year Recap
Happy New Year!
2020 has been a year that none of us could have imagined, but this was also the year where everyone united to support one another throughout some of our toughest moments. We feel grateful to have seen so much strength and resiliency within our own UDance community, and we’re proud of everything we’ve accomplished together.
In celebration of the start of a new year, we want to reflect on some of our favorite moments from 2020.
UDance 2020 - March 22, 2020
In March 2020, our biggest event of each year, our 12-hour dance marathon, had to be canceled due to COVID-19. Out of an abundance of caution for our students, staff, B+ Heroes, and families, we had to reimagine UDance and transition to a virtual dance marathon.
On March 22, 2020, we were still able to celebrate the culmination of our year-long fundraising effort through live streaming and fundraising. Although UDance 2020 looked different, we came together and discovered that by combining innovation with a Be Positive attitude, we can continue to carry out our mission despite any obstacles we may encounter.
We are proud of the persistence that our B+ community has shown, and even prouder to have fundraised $1,700,117.32 for the kids. We quickly adjusted our fundraising strategies within the month of March, and the results of our efforts gave us an unforgettable start to UDance 2021!
COVID-19 Doesn’t Stop Childhood Cancer - April 30, 2020
The pandemic took all of us by surprise, but we quickly came together to ensure that the families affected by childhood cancer, as well as COVID-19, were able to receive the assistance they needed. The B+ Foundation launched the “COVID-19 Doesn’t Stop Childhood Cancer: The B+ Foundation’s Response to Families of Kids with Cancer Impacted by COVID-19” campaign on April 30, 2020.
After proving the power of our UDance community with UDance 2020 in the previous month, this was a time to unify once again and show how large of an impact we can make together. In less than one week, we were able to collectively fundraise $5,633 for families of kids with cancer impacted by the pandemic.
See 5, Send 5, Stride 5 - May 7, 2020
Although we were no longer on campus, we did not want this to stop us from safely bringing together our friends and family. In an effort to continue strong with our fight against childhood cancer, along with our hopes of unifying our community, our first virtual fundraising campaign for UDance 2021 began; See 5, Send 5, Stride 5!
The See 5, Send 5, Stride 5 Challenge encouraged participants to first see the challenge, then send a $5 donation to The B+ Foundation, and lastly, stride a 5K, whether by walking, running, or biking. Participants would then nominate five of their friends through social media to complete the challenge as well!
After one week, we collectively walked, biked, and ran 2,116 miles in support of the fight against childhood cancer. Bringing our friends and family together for a similar cause was a fun way to end the semester, and continued to show how impactful we can be when working together.
UDance 2021 Date Announcement
We began our summer with one of the most exciting announcements of the year.
UDance 2021 will be held on March 21, 2021!
Summer to Discover
Within UDance, and within our B+ Community, we strive to “Live Like Andrew” every day. To us, this means remaining positive throughout even the hardest times, and limitless in everything we do For the Kids. Our passion to Live Like Andrew inspired us this summer, which led to the Summer to Discover movement. We spent our summer encouraging each other to be imaginative, Be Positive, and reflect on why we fight For the Kids.
We introduced Week of Discovery this past July as part of our Summer to Discover movement, which included expressing why we dance, understanding the effects of childhood cancer, and coming together to fundraise for UDance 2021.
Honoring Andrew
On July 14th, we honored the anniversary of the passing of Andrew McDonough. Andrew is the inspiration behind The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, as well as our inspiration to embody a Be Positive attitude. This year, more than ever, we strive to #LiveLikeAndrew every day, and continue our mission to fight childhood cancer in his legacy.
Involvement Fair - August 31, 2020
With summer ending, and a new semester beginning, we reconnected with our student body and shared UDance’s mission with current, and new, students. The Involvement Fair was held at the very end of August, and while it was strange not being able to personally meet the incoming freshmen, we were able to teach so many students all about UDance!
The virtual atmosphere brought new forms of involvement to UDance, such as Freshmen For the Kids, a committee made up of only freshmen, and so many students were excited to get involved. UDance is UD’s largest student-run philanthropy, and we always encourage everyone to join our fight against childhood cancer.
Week of Why - October 12, 2020 - October 16, 2020
On October 12th, we kicked off Week of Why; which was a time for everyone in our community to come together and reflect on why we continue to support the fight against childhood cancer.
The week started with Rave Run, one of our yearly fundraising traditions for UDance. While we usually participate in Rave Run together on campus, we were able to transition the event to a virtual, three-day 5K. Over 100 participants finished their 5K from all across the region, showing just how far we can share and spread our mission!
Throughout the rest of the week, students got involved on social media to explain why they dance, send heartfelt messages to their organization’s B+ Hero, and more. Week of Why was a great form of encouragement to remain persistent and motivated, even throughout a mid-semester slump.
Week of Greek - November 9, 2020 - November 13, 2020
One of our yearly traditions, Week of Greek, began on November 9th. Midway through the week, Greatest of the Greeks, the biggest Week of Greek event, was made virtual! It was so fun to see all of our greek life organizations join us on Zoom to compete in trivia for the title of the Greatest Greek. Everyone involved with UDance has shown so much dedication this year, and it’s helped make the virtual atmosphere possible.
Hero Holiday Party - November 29, 2020
Not being able to spend time with our B+ Heroes has been one of the most difficult challenges we’ve faced this year, but we have made the most out of the resources we have to ensure our B+ Heroes are feeling supported and encouraged!
UDance’s Hero Holiday Party is an event that we look forward to each year. It’s a chance for us to celebrate the holiday season, as well as our B+ Heroes, and bring some holiday cheer! This year, we came together through Zoom to continue our holiday party tradition.
Our B+ Heroes had the chance to meet Santa, play games, and showcase some holiday singing, dancing, and piano performances! Their bright personalities and optimistic mindsets serve as a reminder for all of us to remain positive, and persistent in our fight against childhood cancer.
Season’s Bidding - December 7, 2020 - December 9, 2020
To start off the month of December, UDance Athletics held the first-ever UDance holiday auction, Season’s Biddings! We’re always looking for new ways to create a lasting impact, and we’re thankful for the support we receive from our community when doing so!
Some of the items being bid on included fitness packages, sports memorabilia, gift cards, and more! This was a great chance to get some holiday shopping in, all while supporting the fight against childhood cancer!
100 Days Until UDance 2021 - December 11, 2020
Also in December, we reached a huge milestone within our year-long fundraising effort. December 11, 2020 officially marked 100 days left until UDance 2021! In celebration of this day, UDance held not only our last fundraising campaign of 2020, but our first ever Matching Day!
All donations up to $100 were matched dollar for dollar, with a cap of $10,000. By noon that day, our UDance community had already fundraised over $5,000! This was the perfect fundraising event to end our year, and truly showed us how coming together can create double the impact.
As a community, we have accomplished so much in just the past year, and we can not wait to set even higher goals for 2021! There are 81 days left until UDance 2021, and we believe that we can make this the best one yet by continuing to work together, all in support of our B+ Heroes and their families.
If you would like to help us accomplish our goals in the new year, as well as create a long-lasting impact on our community, please consider donating to UDance 2021.