The annual TigerTHON raised $131,634.25 for the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center during its annual all-night dance party in the West Village Commons ballroom Friday into Saturday.
More than 150 schools nationwide host similar events for local member hospitals in the Children’s Miracle Network. Students raised $8 million nationwide last year, according to the initiative’s website.
“It’s amazing to see groups from all types of backgrounds, all kinds of students coming together for this one great cause,” TigerTHON president Melanie Lutz said in the days before the event.
TigerTHON 2014 organizers
More than 1,000 Towson students were signed up for the event before kickoff, and Lutz said the group made an effort this year to reach a more diverse group of students, including fraternities and sororities. This year’s theme was “Once Upon a Miracle.”
Lutz said this year’s goal for the Towson event was double that of last year. Towson students seemed primed for the challenge: the event raised $30,000 more than its goal in 2013, and Lutz expected the fundraiser to over-deliver this year, as well. As of Wednesday, the group had raised nearly $60,000. In the days following, the fundraising total was hidden from their website and from Lutz until the total was revealed on Saturday morning.
