UA students pledge $250,000 to Arkansas Children’s Hospital Northwest
by February 17, 2017 9:18 am 666 views
A student organization at University of Arkansas in Fayetteville plans to give $250,000 to Arkansas Children’s Hospital Northwest over the next five years. The organization, Hogs for Hope, will raise the money through Dance Marathon, its annual 12-hour event.
“This is our third year to host Dance Marathon, and we wanted to make a promise to help deliver care close to home for the 200,000 children in our community,” Shannon Lydon, president of Hogs for Hope, said in a news release.
The Dance Marathon event is part of a national fundraiser for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. In 2016, students across the nation raised $31.4 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Arkansas Children’s Northwest will be the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital for Northwest Arkansas.
This year, the Hogs for Hope Dance Marathon will be hosted from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 18) at Fayetteville Town Center. The event will include themed dances, food, games and stories from patients and families of Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Families, students and businesses can sign up as a team or individually “and dance all night to raise funds for Arkansas Children’s Northwest,” the release shows. Registration is $25 and includes a T-shirt and food.
“The outpouring of student support has been incredible,” said Tiffany Black, development officer for Arkansas Children’s Foundation. “The Hogs for Hope Dance Marathon has grown each year, and it is inspiring to see the students on the University of Arkansas campus champion the children in the community by supporting Arkansas Children’s Northwest.”
In August, Arkansas Children’s announced a $70 million fundraiser to support the construction of Arkansas Children’s Northwest. The 233,613-square-foot pediatric hospital is under construction west of Interstate 49 in Springdale and is set to open January 2018. The project is expected to cost $427.7 million in construction, technology, equipment and operating expenses over the next five years and create 250 jobs.