Elonthon: A Team Effort
Last year, Elonthon was one of the many spring events we missed out on when Covid hit. But this year, Elonthon is back (and partly in person) thanks to the amazing executive board we got a chance to talk to this week.
For those of you who don’t know what we’re talking about, Elonthon is Elon University’s dance marathon fundraising event for Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center. It’s also Elon’s largest philanthropic event and student-run campus program of the year.
Now, the question is: how do you successfully run an event that relies heavily on in-person activities during a pandemic?
Because the children that usually partake in Elonthon are immunocompromised, they are not able to participate in person this year. But exec has made the effort to still involve the kids and make it special for them.
“We’ve been doing Zoom calls with them and finding ways to interact that don’t require in-person contact,” says Annemarie Bonner, the director of public relations for Elonthon.
Amanda Lee, this year’s director of catering, has struggled with Elon’s new Covid policies that have restricted giving out food during events. “Normally I would be in charge of getting food donated to us for the event,” says Lee.
Instead, Lee is now working with local restaurants to get as many profit shares as possible, getting the community of local businesses involved, and working towards raising more money.
“We’re determined to have the best event possible for these incredible kids,” she says.
They’ve had to change a lot of things about Elonthon this year due to Covid, including the transition from it being a 24-hour event to a 13.1-hour long event.
“We are live-streaming for the entirety of our event time, in addition to having some aspects in person,” says Sky Allison, the director of facilities for Elonthon.
Allison shared how it’s been difficult not having the alumni gym as the hub for Elonthon this year, since in the past it was the major place for everyone to be together at once.
This year instead of dancing in groups, they’ve added things such as a “selfie booth” and Build-a-Bear into the event so everyone can socially distance as much as possible. Entertainment and live music are now virtual and will be broadcasted during the event.
“But I’m just excited for the bonding experiences,” Bonner adds. “And I’m looking forward to seeing Elon come together for the cause.”
Sydnie Holder, another member of exec, has similar feelings: “We worked really hard this year and I’m excited to see the turn out.”
Holder and the rest of the team on Elonthon has worked harder this year than any previous years, making an event that would otherwise not be possible without these devoted people running it.
“We needed some type of normalcy to remind people we’re in this together,” says Holder. “Our why [for doing this] is stronger than ever.”
Allison personally wants everyone to know how much the exec board has worked to make this event possible this year and to bring some light to everyone after a hard year. “This group has been through so much together,” she says. “They have moved mountains to make this year so incredible.”
“Covid has made us rethink a lot of the parts of what makes Elonthon what it is,” Allison says. “But our incredible miracle kids make any and all of it so worth every challenge.”
The Edge strongly encourages you to sign up for Elonthon. There is no better time than now to feel a sense of community after the last year, and to be supporting a great cause like this one is a truly rewarding experience.
You can sign up to participate here by April 3, donate to the fundraiser here, find updates/information on their Instagram here, and tune into the live event on April 10!