On February 11th the Ohio University community came together and raised $74,865.97 for the children and families of the Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio in Columbus. A year’s worth of hard work all manifested in one day, one dance marathon, fittingly called BobcaThon.
The tradition of hosting a dance marathon to raise money for a children’s charity began years ago and has expanded to universities across the nation ever since. This year was Ohio University’s third annual dance marathon and the money raised has quite impeccably doubled every year since its fruition.
PRSSA has been known each year as one of the most involved organizations with both the dance marathon and BobcaThon as a whole. This year there was one eboard member on BobcaThon’s leadership team, two eboard members and one general member who served as Morale Captains and many, many more PRSSA members who showed up and danced for 12 hours, day of. Not only was there incredible participation from our Chapter, but Scripps PRSSA was also the highest fundraising organization involved in the marathon with just under $3,000, not even including the money raised by the four members who were in leadership positions within BobcaThon.
This extreme involvement by our organization in such a strong community event goes to show that college students these days, both in the PR field and many others, are looking for an employer who cares about making a social impact. So many of us look almost immediately at the cause marketing strategies and community service opportunities a company offers before we even consider applying.
Less than positive things are happening everywhere and our generation feels like it’s our obligation to fix, change and create. BobcaThon is the perfect example of how we can make an impact in a world where there are so many things we don’t feel powerful enough to change.
Speaking only for myself, I’m proud of the involvement that PRSSA has had over the years in BobcaThon, as well as with other charitable organizations. I think this is a sign to employers that millenials aren’t as lazy as we seem and we’re looking to make an impact not only in our professional roles, but in the world and in our community as well.
See you next year in Baker Ballroom, BobcaThon!
Jennica Lurie is a senior Strategic Communication major. She is also the VP of PR for Scripps PRSSA and served as a Morale Captain for this year’s BobcaThon. Follow her on Twitter @JennicaLurie!
Reblogged this on Jennerally Speaking.