For Torie Hartis, Cougarthon is more than just a fundraiser. As a child, she spent the first eight years of her life in and out of hospitals. This was a major strain not only on her, but on her family. To a child, consistent hospital stays can be stressful and isolating, and for the parents, they can be a financial nightmare.

The senior from Monroe, North Carolina, majoring in secondary biology education still has memories of Children’s Miracle Network staff coming into her hospital room to help distract her from her stressful situation, and her family was given much-needed financial assistance. Her volunteerism through Columbus State University’s annual student-led Cougarthon fundraising program gives her a way to pay that support forward to children and families benefiting from that same care and compassion.

“Being able to meet with Miracle children has further inspired me to continue giving back,” Hartis said.

Cougarthon is an annual dance marathon planned through CSU’s Division of Student Affairs that celebrates year-round fundraising on behalf of the Children’s Miracle Network. CMN, as it’s also known as, provides funding to its participating network hospitals to help ensure their pediatric patients receive the best possible care. In Columbus, that network includes Piedmont Columbus Regional, which benefits directly from the ongoing commitment of Columbus State students.

“The Children’s Hospital at Piedmont Columbus Regional, your local Children’s Miracle Network hospital, is so thankful for the partnership and commitment of the Cougarthon Dance Marathon,” said Jessie Brown, Piedmont Columbus Regional Foundation’s Children’s Miracle Network officer. “The dedication and passion these students have to help kids in our community are reflected in their fundraising success and continued growth. The funds raised from Cougarthon help us make miracles happen every day for our smallest and most vulnerable patients.”

Throughout the event, students are encouraged to participate in a number of activities. Every hour has a different theme to keep things interesting. This year featured Zumba-, tailgating-, Bridgerton-, and holiday-themed hours during which students either participated in Zumba lessons, created their own masquerade masks, or took part in an Easter egg hunt. Students also learned a morale dance at the beginning of the night and every hour kicks off with it.

One of the most highly anticipated events of the night, however, is Midnight Dodgeball. While registered teams are automatically included, anyone else who wants to is able to register their own seven-player team can come and participate in this event. This year’s winners were CSU’s Xi-Iota Chapter of  Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

All Cougarthon registration fees benefit CMN, and the fundraising itself is a year-round event where participants form teams and take it upon themselves to collect money for the charity. By the Feb. 27 event this year, Cougarthon has raised $9,521—over $1,400 more than the 2022 fundraising campaign—with contributions continuing through the end of the academic year.

Visit the Cougarthon webpage for more information about Cougarthon and how to either get involved or sponsor CSU’s efforts.