Hadley Devall, a sophomore pre-pharmacy major wasn’t too thrilled when her sorority hosted ULM’s first Dance Marathon.

“Terrible. My dancing was absolutely horrible,” Devall said.

Devall, along with her sorority sisters, hosted Phi Mu’s first Dance Marathon at ULM. The event is a student-led fundraiser that helps raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, sometimes abbreviated as CMN, helps over 10 million kids in different hospitals across North America each year. The money raised for the hospitals helps pay hospital fees for children who aren’t completely covered by programs such as Medicaid or other different types of insurance programs.

“It’s been super fun being here especially getting to see the kids we are helping and just knowing that what we’re doing actually means something, it makes a difference,” Devall said.

The Alpha Rho chapter of Phi Mu at ULM hosted their first ever Dance Marathon at the Bayou Pointe Event Center Saturday morning.

The event was well attended with over a hundred-people showing up to dance and fundraise for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

The premise of a Dance Marathon is fundraising and dance, the latter Devall playfully rejects having any skills at.

“It would be a lot of fun if we could have more people here and you could blend in with the crowd and you wouldn’t be so noticeable if you sucked at dancing,” Devall added.

Peyton Zalewski, a sophomore biology major and member of Phi Mu joined DeVall in dancing the day away with her friends at the event.

Zalewski, along with a few others, had a special task given to them for the event.

“I’m actually one of the Moral Dance leaders so I’m having a lot of fun,” Zalewski said.

Zalewski and others held a Moral Dance every hour to keep the crowd energized.

The Moral Dance was similar to a line dance and worked to get everyone involved and keep attendees pumped through their fundraising extravaganza.

Thanks to the efforts made by Phi Mu, over $24,000 was raised for the children of CMN hospitals.

Freshmen biology major Jaden Lee was ecstatic by the end of the event seeing how much money she and her sorority raised.

“I’m really excited about continuing to raise money for the kids each year through the Dance Marathon,” Lee said.

After hours of dancing and socializing, the event ended on a good note.

The crowd applauded when they announced that over $24,000 will be given to the local CMN hospital in Arkansas.

The Alpha Rho chapter of Phi Mu at ULM plans to continue the event and make it a yearly fundraising staple for their sorority.

Devall, Zalewski and Lee all hope to continue fundraising with the rest of their sorority sisters.