This Monday, April 14th, a small group of students gathered at the UVM Medical Center to make a miracle happen. Dressed in their finest, the student leadership team of one of the university’s most impactful clubs offered a check that signified not only their hard work over the last year, but the accumulation of a decade-long charity effort. Together, on behalf of RALLYTHON, the students were able to present $101,184.33 to Dr. Lewis First, the UVM Children’s Hospital Chief of Pediatrics.

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is a charity organization with 4 decades of experience and 170 partnerships with children’s hospitals. They fund local member hospitals, paying for life-saving treatment, research, pediatric medical equipment, and more. Among these partnerships is the UVM Children’s Hospital, which has 25k patient visits annually to their Children’s Specialty Center and is the only children’s hospital in the state of Vermont. The charity work done for the hospital is only possible through RALLYTHON, a UVM student-run organization. They fundraise through various events like 5ks, Dine to Donates, silent discos, and more. They host a push week each semester, with this year’s seeing over $12.5k raised in the fall and $16.5k this spring, and then it all finally accumulates into their main event: the dance marathon (dance-a-thon, for those in the know.)

RALLYTHON is an ever-evolving success story. In 2023, leaders of the team traveled to Missouri to Children’s Miracle Network’s annual dance marathon conference where the team was awarded the Mission Integration Award on a national level,  which they earned thanks to their incredible efforts in bringing their cause and mission to the forefront of everything they do. This work is partly what rewarded them with recognition as the 2023 Mission Integration Award winners, which highlights the effective education and engagement a group contributes to their community. RALLYTHON’s dance-a-thon took place on March 29th this year, starting at exactly noon and running for 12 hours. The 2025 edition saw two important landmarks: first, the 10th year anniversary of the program. Second, and even more significantly, RALLYTHON’s coordinators announced at midnight that with this year’s earnings, they had raised cumulatively over $1 million for their cause.

This success is the work of a close-knit team. Twenty students function as the main body of RALLYTHON, advised by 2 full-time campus staff members and the Children’s Hospital Community Fundraising Specialist. The students are tasked with finding and handling sponsors, creating marketing, organizing regular and themed fundraising opportunities, and, of course, facilitating the dance marathon it all cultivates in. This is a year-long effort. It’s not a service organization for the faint of heart, but students make up the lifeblood of RALLYTHON efforts. 

When we spoke with her in late March following the weeks leading up to the main event, Mira Harris, the Director of Relations, said, “This organization is the most fulfilling part of my UVM career as we work tirelessly to provide funds for the UVM Children's hospital, all while building an incredible community within the club itself. For this club's 10 Year Anniversary, we are aiming to have raised $1,000,000 for the Children's Hospital and there is nothing more gratifying than knowing the impact that we have had on the lives of our future.” Mira has been working for RALLYTHON for three years, and individually raised a little under $2,500 during 2025. Her peers, like Tracy Rosenberg, Isabella Nash, and Riley McGowan are all executive board members who remain among the year’s top fundraisers. Rosenberg was this year’s lead fundraiser, individually totaling over $5,000.

The hard work of the students is paid off in spades by their results. The money raised by RALLYTHON is put back into supporting “miracle kids”–that’s what the pediatric patients are referred to as. They are given the resources and support to overcome childhood sickness and injury, uplifting them as they grow to become the future generation. 

Madeline Wood, a senior and RALLYTHON’s Director of Events writes, “Watching the kids who have been treated at the University of Vermont’s Children’s Hospital smile and laugh through twelve hours of dancing is the most impactful part of the work we do at RALLYTHON; knowing that 100% of the money fundraised throughout the year has directly impacted every miracle child present is something you never forget.” 

As the club continues to be changed, both by the efforts of the students and the families affected by it, we can only look forward to the next ten years of RALLYTHON as they continue to move mountains and make miracles.