Rotaract District 5320

On February 13-14, 2010, UCLA held its 9th annual Dance Marathon. Participants in the event raised a total of over $407,000 for the fight against pediatric AIDS. All proceeds went to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Project Kindle, and One Heartland. Fullerton Community Rotaractors and CSULB Rotaractors danced for 26 hours straight. Other Fullerton Community Rotaract Club members volunteered to help set up and clean up. Together, both Rotaract clubs raised $750 dollars for the cause. (Dancers were required to find humanitarians to sponsor them.) The dancers described the event as some of the best experiences they ever had. They learned the Dance Marathon motto: “When there is a cure we’ll dance for joy, until then we dance for life,” and now plan to incorporate it in their lives. Janki Shah, one member of The Fullerton Community Rotaract Club, said that at one moment she thought she lost her mind, as she was going in circles and trying to forget about the pain in her legs. Despite this, she persevered and gave this great message to other dancers: “Do whatever you need to do if it helps you to keep going.” Even after staying on their legs for 26 hours, the Rotaractors would like to make a tradition of participating in Dance Marathon in future years.