No Matter What

The first dancers for Dance Marathon at Florida State University walked through the doors of Tully Gym in 1994 with the goal to help those who need it most and make an impact. For over 25 years, DM at FSU paved the way for future generations to fight, Against All Odds, towards the end of pediatric illness and injury. Though 2020 was a bump in the road, we adapted and persevered just like the children we fight for do every day.

We learned how to be together while being apart.

Being together is crucial during hard times, so despite the fact that we couldn’t have huge, in-person meetings anymore, we each adapted and got very comfortable with Zoom.

We learned the meaning of family.

Family is not just those related to you--this organization is a family. All are welcome into this family, and all are loved and supported throughout our fight for the kids.

We learned the meaning of health.

Health means more than just being physically healthy. Health includes physical and mental wellbeing, getting outside, spending time with the people you love and so much more.

We learned how to adapt.

This includes adapting how we conducted our meetings, how we put on events, how we spent time together and adapting the marathon to be the safest experience possible for our guests and dancers.

We learned from each and every one of you.

We never would have been able to do it without the help from our amazing dancers, internal members and supporters. Seeing the fight in each of you provides such a powerful spark for us to keep pushing on and fighting for the children who need it most No Matter What.

Why “No Matter What?”

As an organization, DM at FSU was forced to change a lot about how we did things, but we came out stronger and even more motivated to fight for the kids. Year 25 was successfully completed in 2020 before the world shut down, and Year 26 was our first hybrid marathon conducted safely and either remotely or within each participating organization’s facility. We hosted socially-distanced events and activities throughout the year like Tour De Gong, CarChella and a drive-in total reveal at the end of the marathon. For Year 27, we are back in business because we fight for the kids No Matter What. We chose the phrase, “No Matter What” because the children who are suffering from pediatric illness or injury cannot take a break from their pain like many of us could take a break from work or school to quarantine. As you can imagine, the COVID-19 pandemic has been very difficult for children living inside pediatric hospitals like UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital and for their families. We may have busy schedules as college students, but we pledge to fight for kids who need our help the most No Matter What, because Kids Can’t Wait.

Now that the world is starting to feel normal again, you have a choice. Will you sit back and watch, or will you join us in our fight? No Matter What, we’ll be there.