Dance all night? Eat lots of food? Get a T-shirt? Sounds great already. But what if it were all to educate orphans?
The nonprofit organization More than Compassion hosted Dance Marathon on Nov. 10 to raise money for building a bilingual elementary school for orphans in Guatemala.
The organization is dedicated to helping improve the lives of children living in orphanages in Guatemala, according to Pepperdine alumnus Brooks Baumgartner (‘11), the founder and executive director of MTC.
“We provide children with tangible hope by meeting their basic needs and equipping them with skills to succeed in the future,” Baumgartner said.
Baumgartner founded the organization after he graduated in 2011, when he spent a year living at an orphanage in Guatemala called the Fundacion Salvacion. The children did not have a local school and thus little opportunity to learn.
So far, MTC has raised $8,300, with more money still coming in through the 800 fundraising letters sent out by participants. All of the money that students raised and spent on their tickets will be used for construction materials that will help the School of Hope, which is to be finished by the middle of January.
There will be eight Pepperdine alumni teaching at the school and 45 orphans from preschool to sixth grade attending the school in the first year.
“It will be such a huge blessing for these children to receive quality education with individualized attention and the ability to learn English,” Baumgartner said.
While the dance seemed to get off to a rocky start, it turned out to be very well received by participants. Although it ended an hour earlier than expected at 3 a.m., the workers and participants considered the evening to be a hit.
“I think it was a huge success,” said junior Jordynn Cheeney, the student coordinator of the event. “We had over 250 participants at the event and they all seemed to be having a blast.”
The bands Sunday Lane and Fallen Riviera performed earlier in the evening, and DJ 5footTin entertained for the remainder of the night.
For a $20 ticket, students received entrance to Dance Marathon — which was held in the Caf from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. — a T-shirt, snacks and beverages and Chick-fil-A. Participants were also given cookies and ice cream on their way out.
Mamma Chia as well as Pitbull Energy Productions, a company founded by a Pepperdine alum, donated beverages for the evening, Cheeney said.
Besides students, several other groups and organizations sponsored the event with money or prizes. Small Business and Entrepreneurship University donated the two all-inclusive tickets to Cabo to a raffle, which helped students get excited about Dance Marathon and fundraising extra money.
Dance Marathon was also sponsored by International Justice Mission, SGA and the Center of Faith and Learning.
“Stacy Rothberg, the associate dean of students, was our adviser for the event,” Cheeney said. “She was so supportive and helped with everything down to the tiniest detail. The event probably would not have happened if it hadn’t been for her support.”
Pepperdine Ambassadors Council adviser Kathryn Trice was the event mentor and was also crucial to the event’s success, as she was there from setup at 6 p.m. to shut down at 3 a.m., Cheeney said.
Overall, students said they were thrilled to give back to the community and have fun at the same time.
