Dare To Do More : Fall Push 2025 Recap

Dance Marathon at Florida State University just wrapped up our 2025 fall fundraising push, Dare to do More, a further expansion to our year long campaign, More to Do. This theme symbolizes our continuous hard work and our dedication to always reaching higher, daring to push the limits from years past to change children’s pediatric healthcare. From October 4th to October 9th, the Florida State community came together with one shared goal: to do more for the Miracle Ambassadors supported by UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital as well as the Hang Tough Foundation. 

Two of those Miracle Ambassadors, Bailey and Owen, were at the heart of this past week’s mission. Bailey, who was born with Turner Syndrome, has faced challenges with remarkable resilience. Thanks to the care she receives at Shands, she is now a bright, bubbly, energetic 15-year-old whose spirit shines through everything she does. Owen’s story began with a congenital heart defect that required surgery just mere hours after he was born. After spending nearly two months in the pediatric intensive care unit, he is now thriving and loves being outdoors and playing with his siblings. Both Bailey and Owen’s stories remind us at Dance Marathon, that every dollar raised has the power to create real, lasting change for pediatric healthcare. Beyond Shands, Dance Marathon at FSU has continued its support for the Hang Tough Foundation, a local organization that provides both comfort and community to families navigating childhood medical and special needs diagnoses. Funds raised from Fall Push will help fund programs, like Teen Hangout, giving teens a safe space to build friendships, and find comfort despite the challenges they face. 

This past week was packed with events that brought our FSU community together in both fun and meaningful ways. We kicked off things with our Harvest Hustle 5K, where participants laced up their sneakers and raced for a reason. Later that morning, participants and supporters gathered at our Catalina Cafe share-it, where a part of every purchase goes back to Dance Marathon. We also hosted our annual Miracle Market on Langford Green, where we had live music, local vendors, games, and the classic Morale-O-Ween trunk or treat, to get everyone in the Halloween spirit! This week ended with Capture the Funds, where each organization involved in Dance Marathon went head to head in a bracket style fundraising competition to see who would raise the most money to receive the Capture the Funds trophy at the end of the push.

Fall Push was more than simply a week of fundraising, but rather, it was a reminder of what is possible when a community comes together, united under one goal, one mission, and one purpose. Every donation made during the week directly impacts both our Miracle Ambassadors and families in need. Just $6 can fund a paintbrush for art therapy, $10 can provide a blood pressure cuff, $15 helps buy LEGO kits, and $20 contributes to the purchase of newborn bassinets. This year, participants were encouraged to raise at least $72, a number symbolizing the number of patients a Children's Miracle Network Hospital sees every minute, the collective impact Dance Marathon can have when we dare to do more! Thank you to everyone who participated this past week, and dared to do more. It truly showed what it means to make miracles happen, and we are looking forward to carrying out the spirit from this fundraising push, into the rest of Year 31!

Written By: Ashlynd Sellers