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A Look At This Year’s OttoTHON A Look At This Year's OttoTHON

OttoTHON: Where Miracles Happen Together

By Riley Didier

OTTOTHON 2019, WHERE MIRACLES HAPPEN TOGETHER. FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY HAS BEEN HOME TO OTTOTHON, A 12 HOUR DANCE MARATHON TO HELP SUPPORT CHILDREN AT THE GOLISANO CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL. RECRUITMENT CHAIR, DANIEL WOOD, EXPLAINED TO ME HIS PASSION FOR OTTOTHON.

(“It’s a passion that you almost become addicted to after you experience an OttoTHON. The energy the organization brings is like nothing else I’ve ever expereinced.”)

AND WHILE I WAS SPEAKING TO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MOLLY COLETTA, SHE SHARED WITH ME HER WHY.

(“When I came across OttoTHON, I knew it was something really special because when I was younger one of my bestfirends was treated at a children’s hospital in Boston, and we always tell our dancers to think about their why. So why do they participate, why they dance. And Maddie is my friend and she is my why.”)

WHILE THIS GYM MAY BE EMPTY NOW, ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER NINTH IT WILL BE FILLED WITH PEOPLE DANCING TO BENEFIT CHILDREN AT GOLISANO’S.

THIS YEAR, THE MEMBERS OF THE OTTOTHON TEAM HOPE TO RAISE TWO-HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS, WHICH WOULD BE AN ALL-TIME RECORD. AND DANIEL GAVE ME A LITTLE INSIGHT AS TO HOW THIS MONEY WOULD BENEFIT THE CHILDREN.

(“In past years, the money that we’ve raised for OttoTHON has never been, like, specified and usually just goes to some fund within Upstate Golisano. But this year, it’s actually going towards a brand new facility called Upstate Golisano Center for Special Needs.”)

OTTOTHON IS HAPPENING THIS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH. WITH N-C-C NEWS, IM RILEY DIDIER

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — For the past five years, Syracuse University hosts the annual OttoTHON, a 12-hour dance marathon dedicated to helping children at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. Each year, the event continues to grow but this year the committee hopes to make big strides in fundraising.

Executive Committee Chair, Daniel Wood shared with me that their fundraising goal for this season is $225,000, the highest goal they have ever had.

While the OttoTHON event is not unique to Syracuse, the name is. Across the country, many schools host events much like OttoTHON, to raise money for many different causes.

The dance marathon event began in 1972 at Penn State, now called THON, and has continued to grow as the years continue. These dance marathons can also be found and a few high schools across the country.

While the dance marathon has been active at Syracuse University, the committee has managed to raise over a quarter of a million dollars, all of which benefit Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital.

OttoTHON 2019 is set to kick off Saturday, November 9th. You can find more information regarding OttoTHON here.

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