Get ready for the first Commonwealth Cup!
From Feb. 8-11, University of Kentucky’s DanceBlue and the University of Louisville’s raiseREDwill come together despite long-standing rivalries in an attempt to fundraise $50,000 collectively for the respective hospitals the dance marathons benefit. For DanceBlue, money raised will benefit the DanceBlue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Hematology/Oncology Clinic. For raiseRED, money raised will benefit the Norton Children’s Cancer Institute and the UofL Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology.
DanceBlue Fundraising Chair Lizzie Rupp is ecstatic about working with RaiseRed. “Although the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville have a long-standing, healthy rivalry, DanceBlue and RaiseRed are our school’s exceptions. Both organizations have a common goal: to provide support for the kids receiving treatment and their families, and to provide funding for pediatric oncology research. The Commonwealth Cup provides us with an awesome opportunity to come together and work towards our goal of raising $50k in one week–all for the kids!”
The fundraiser will be held via both of the dance marathons’ social media. There will be posts daily that highlight the fundraiser itself, the impact of each organization, and how much money has been raised collectively. Templates for students to use fundraising will also be posted.
In addition to the daily posts, there will also be two events held Wednesday, Feb. 10. These events include a TikTok competition all day, in which the dance marathon with the most engagement on their TikTok posted that day wins, and a virtual bingo event at 7 p.m., in which everyone is welcome to attend and have the opportunity to win some prizes from either DanceBlue or raiseRED.
“I’m very excited for this opportunity to partner with DanceBlue to work to unite the state of Kentucky around our cause and to benefit the lives of the kids and families seeking treatment all across our state,” sadi Benny Gerdes, Internal Projects Coordinator for raiseRED. “Times are tough for everyone, so I can’t possibly imagine the difficulty of battling cancer right now. Cancer can’t be put on hold, so neither can we. That’s why the Commonwealth Cup is such an important and timely effort to raise the money our communities’ kids and families need.”
Lizzie, Benny, and the entirety of DanceBlue and raiseRED hope that you will consider joining them in this goal of raising $50,000 collectively “For The Kids” and for Kentucky. If you would like to join the fundraising effort, you can donate to DanceBlue here and raiseRED here.
To participate all week, be sure to follow DanceBlue (Instagram – @uk_danceblue, Facebook – DanceBlue, Twitter/TikTok – @ukdanceblue) and raiseRED (Instagram/Twitter – @raisered_uofl, Facebook – RaiseRED, TikTok – @raisered) on social media!
