Annual event returns for second year over Zoom
Due to the pandemic, URI’s annual Rhodython fundraiser took place in a mix of in-person and online events. Photo from twitter.com.
On March 20, the University of Rhode Island’s annual campus-wide fundraiser, Rhodython, took place with a mixture of online and in-person events.
This year, the 12-hour dance marathon raised almost $40,000 in donations that benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. This money goes towards giving children and their families the most comfortable experience possible at Hasbro Children’s Hospital during their stay.
In collaboration with URI’s IT Services, the fundraising event was streamed live on Youtube and on Rhodython’s social media accounts. This marks the second year in a row that Rhodython was moved online due to the pandemic. However, the group’s newly elected president, Paige Nickla, said this only allowed them to be more prepared and excited to have a few in-person events throughout the day.
“We put together a parade, which took place during the morning of Rhodython and had the children and their families come,” Nickla said. “We had gift baskets for them and everything. It was nice being able to have that sense of in-person, especially because everything is on Zoom these days. There’s no physical connection, so that was really awesome.”
Sarah Abrahamson, Rhodython’s hospital relations chair, said that much of the event’s success can be attributed to the smaller, more personal Zoom gatherings that took place throughout the year with many families and their children, which allowed for the excitement surrounding the dance marathon to build.
“We would create crafts and games that would be interactive for the kids,” she said. “Even if it was just for 30 minutes, seeing them happy was so awesome. Just being able to actually meet them in person and see them was so exciting because we had only met through Zoom. Seeing how much we can do for them and how much of an impact we all make on them is a really powerful feeling.”
In the past, the 12-hour dance marathon has been hosted in either Mackal Field House or Keaney Gym. The marathon includes teams collaborating to raise money for Hasbro Children’s Hospital by dancing for as long as possible. Members and volunteers on URI’s Kingston Campus showed off their dance moves virtually at this year’s Rhodython.
The group highlights a “champion child” every year that Hasbro elects as their “child of the year”.
“We would typically be able to spend time with them in this huge gym, with all these people, bouncy houses, games and activities for them to do,” said Nickla. “It was very different this year because that [level] of engagement wasn’t there, but hopefully next year we do get to do that.”
According to Abrahamson, one of the more challenging aspects of planning for a mostly virtual RhodyThon was organizing different Zoom meetings based on the varying work schedules of children’s families.
“Instead of seeing them in person or at the hospital with their child, we would have to ask what their work schedules looked like so we could coordinate a time,” she said. “That was really difficult because some of them were not actively in the hospital and even if they were, we couldn’t go see them.”
Nickla said the money raised for the children at Hasbro Children’s Hospital will go towards many of their medical procedures, hospital accommodations and amenities. Ally Youngsman, Rhodython’s community engagement chair, said the most rewarding part of her involvement with the group is seeing the impact on families.
“Even if the kids are focused on their diagnoses or being in the hospital, being able to take away from that and have fun with them for a little is so special,” Youngsman said. “When you’re planning [the activities] you know you’re making an impact, but when you see the kids’ reactions and their excitement, you really feel that it pays off.”