OAHS LEOs Club to hold all-night dance-a-thon to benefit CF Foundation

The Oxford Area High School chapter of LEOs is giving students and community members of all ages a chance to dance all night while helping others to breathe easier and see better.

LEOs, a student community service organization of Lions Clubs International sponsored by the Oxford Lions Club, will hold an 11-hour dance-a-thon from the evening of Friday, February 17 to the morning of Saturday, February 18 at Redman’s Hall, Route 472 and Brick Road, Oxford. Admission is $3 at the door, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The event will actually include two dance-a-thons: Children ages up to sixth grade accompanied by an adult are invited to dance to age-appropriate music from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday evening.

Middle school and high school students, as well as adults, will be able to dance from 8:30 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. on Saturday.

Unlike the dance marathons of the 1930s, the dance-a-thon will not be a test of endurance but an all-night party. A DJ will provide the music and concessions will be available all night at very low prices.

“When people aren’t dancing they can enjoy refreshments or play games like Twister,” said LEOs Club president Heather Way. “We’ll also have special activities like a limbo contest.”

Heather added that there will be separate areas for students and adults to dance and that many adults will be on hand as chaperones throughout the night. “We want the dance-a-thon to be a fun social gathering,” she said. “Everyone in Oxford and the surrounding school districts is welcome.”

Food vouchers will be provided to anyone who donates a pair of prescription glasses or sunglasses, or eyeglass case, as part of Lions International’s Recycle for Sight program. Glasses are cleaned, sorted by prescription strength and distributed to people in need in developing countries.

The LEOs Club was inspired by the annual Pan-Hellenic Dance Marathon at Penn State University, which supports the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital and is the largest student-run charity event in the world. The dance-a-thon is the first major event to be sponsored by LEOs, now in its second year at Oxford Area High School.

“Up until now we have helped with Lions Club fundraisers, and we felt it was time to plan an event on our own,” said Heather.

The club decided to have the dance-a-thon benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation after learning more about the disease from a classmate diagnosed with CF, a life-threatening disorder that causes severe lung damage and nutritional deficiencies. “Our friend has to take 60 pills a day and use machines to fight the disease,” said Heather. “He and his family are really appreciative of what we’re doing and think it will be beneficial in raising awareness of cystic fibrosis. We’ll have a lot of materials from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for people to take home with them.

"We’re really hoping for the best and that enough people come to the dance-a-thon to make it an annual event.”

Heather said several local businesses are supporting the event and especially thanked Redman’s Hall for donating the facility at no cost. For more information about the dance-a-thon, e-mail to oxforddanceathon@yahoo.com