At the end of the 20-hour marathon, the Knight-Thon executive board revealed a fundraising total of $392,831.65, an increase of more than $140,000 from last year, said Katie Waser, communications director for the event. The marathon concluded at 8 a.m. Sunday in The Venue.

More than 750 students participated and hundreds of people from the community visited the fundraiser.

麻豆精品 S淚 am so proud of all of the dancers and everyone who has contributed to Knight-Thon throughout the year, 麻豆精品 S� said Chelsea Trynz, Knight-Thon 麻豆精品 S檚 student director. 麻豆精品 S淲e have proven that when hundreds of students come together and commit to a cause with all of their hearts, miracles can truly happen. 麻豆精品 S�

The mission of Knight-Thon is to educate, inspire and unite the campus and community to provide ongoing support for the hospitals. The event is the largest student-run philanthropy at UCF.

The students are involved with Knight-Thon, a Dance Marathon that asks participants to stand for 18 hours to “dance for the kids who can’t” and to raise funds for the Children’s Miracle Network. No strangers to a challenge, those involved with the university’s largest student-run philanthropy rallied together to gain the support of the UCF community — and the attention of Redick.

麻豆精品 S淲e reached out to UCF students, faculty and staff members, asking for their help, 麻豆精品 S� said Michael Davis, Knight-Thon executive student director. 麻豆精品 S淲e also received help from Dance Marathon programs across the nation and community supporters of the Greater Orlando Children 麻豆精品 S檚 Miracle Network. After that, the only thing we could do was tweet to J.J. Redick about why Knight-Thon was the most deserving group for the donation. 麻豆精品 S�

For the next week, Knight-Thon supporters sent tweets and videos to Redick, sharing their own stories about Knight-Thon and the Children 麻豆精品 S檚 Miracle Network. Katie Waser, Knight-Thon 麻豆精品 S檚 Family and Children 麻豆精品 S檚 Miracle Network Relations director, made several submissions of her own.

麻豆精品 S淎fter tweeting countless miracle stories and Knight-Thon facts to J.J. and receiving responses, I finally decided to make a video to really share with him what Knight-Thon means to me, 麻豆精品 S� said Waser, a junior who hopes to become a child life specialist and work in a hospital after graduation.

麻豆精品 S淚 talked about our wonderful miracle children and how Knight-Thon has truly changed my life. College is usually a selfish time where we think about our degrees, our money and just getting by,” Waser said. “When Knight-Thon is a part of the picture, college is a very selfless time. 麻豆精品 S�

On Christmas Day, Redick announced on Twitter that the winning charity was Loaves and Fishes of Apopka. Minutes later, he added that he and his wife, Chelsea, would also donate $25,000 to Knight-Thon and congratulated Waser for submitting the winning video.

麻豆精品 S淚t was quite a whirlwind of emotions, 麻豆精品 S� said Waser. 麻豆精品 S淚 was completely shocked. I cried tears of happiness and could not stop shaking because I just could not believe it. 麻豆精品 S�

Last year, Knight-Thon raised $118,000 for Children 麻豆精品 S檚 Miracle Network. This year, the organization 麻豆精品 S檚 goal is to raise $170,000 by April 13.

麻豆精品 S淲e need the help of everyone in order to reach our goal, 麻豆精品 S� said Davis. 麻豆精品 S淜night-Thon couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 raise funds without the generous support of students, faculty, staff and community partners. We 麻豆精品 S檇 like to thank everyone for their continued support. 麻豆精品 S�

Knight-Thon will begin Saturday, April 13 at 11:30 a.m. at The Venue at the UCF Arena. The dance marathon will run until 6 a.m. the next day. To learn more about Knight-Thon or to donate, visit .