1. What is Knight-Thon?
Knight-Thon is a national Miracle Network Dance Marathon movement that raises funds all year-round for Children Miracle Network Hospitals. At ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½, Knight-Thon raises funds for Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and culminates in its main event β€” a 20-hour dance marathon β€” each spring. Every cent raised goes towards the hospital’s greatest need at the time. This includes medical treatments, care and research, as well as everyday items to make the hospital feel more comfortable for its patients.

This year, $811,589 was raised through Knight-Thon.

2. When and where will Knight-Thon be held?
Knight-Thon 2022 will take place from 11 a.m. on March 26 to 11 a.m. on March 27. For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the dance marathon will be back in the Addition Financial Arena. In 2020, Knight-Thon’s in-person dance marathon was canceled 10 days before it was supposed to be held as ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ moved to remote operations, and students quickly adapted to host a virtual event. Last year it was held as a hybrid event on Memory Mall and online.

3. Who can attend Knight-Thon’s main event and what activities make up the dance marathon?
In the past, only individuals who raised certain amounts of money were allowed to participate in the main event. This year, the dance marathon is open to any Knights, friends and family.Β  Every hour on the hour, students partake in the β€œMorale” dance, but there’s much more to the dance marathon. Children who are patients at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children are welcomed onstage alongside their families to share their stories of diagnosis, defeat, and newfound hope.

There’s also food and free entertainment.Β This year’s event will include a drag show and silent disco.

4. How do I register for Knight-Thon or make a donation?
To register for Knight-Thon or make a donation, visit,

5. How much money has been raised through Knight-Thon at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½?
In 2022, $811,589 was raised for Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children through Knight-Thon at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½.

Over the past 25 years, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ has raised $8 million for Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. Last year during the philanthropic initiative’s first hybrid event, Knights raised $613,280.

On Sunday morning, the moment the Knight-Thon community in Orlando has been waiting for all year will finally arrive as we reveal how much money we were able to raise for Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children Β during our annual Children’s Miracle Network Hospital Dance Marathon.

While many students may be unaware of this cause on campus, Knight-Thon has become ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s largest student-driven philanthropy over the past 25 years. Each year of Knight-Thon is unlike any other, but as the organization’s community engagement manager I’ve seen how this milestone year is especially different as we’ve had to overcome the challenges of the pandemic, and I’ve never been more proud.

I have seen first-hand the impact of the funds that we have raised. My baby cousin was treated at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital and was able to receive the most amazing care possible because of Knight-Thon. For that, my family and I are forever grateful.

“This year we’re celebrating 25 years of Knight-Thon β€” 25 years’ worth of passion for a cause that allows all of the participants to be a part of something bigger than themselves.”

My role with the Knight-Thon organization involves many different tasks, including overseeing all of our local K-12 feeder programs that hold their very own Children’s Miracle Network Dance Marathons on their campuses. Connecting to these feeder programs not only helps us support more kids through the Children’s Miracle Network, but it also serves as an introduction to the organization for many students β€” in fact my passion for this cause started through my high school’s own version of Knight-Thon. Since then I fell in love with everything this organization stands for.

Typically, we spend all year fundraising and raising awareness about our cause, and all that hard work culminates with a 20-hour event that includes games, music, dancing, silent disco, rave hour, stories from our miracle families, celebration of our K-12 feeder schools in the Central Florida area, and so much more.

My favorite moment of the entire event by far has to be our Circle of Hope. At the end of our main event β€” before the big reveal of how much money we’ve raised our Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children β€” all of our participants gather together in a circle and take notice of the hospital band that has been banded to us for the entire event. While someone goes around the circle and cuts off each person’s band, we recognize that while we may get to go home, the kids in our local CMN hospital don’t and are still fighting for their health.

It is a time to remember why we do what we do every single year. It’s a moment that brings tears to my eyes and goosebumps to my body because our kids can’t wait, they need us to keep fighting for them beyond just our main event. It is a moment that I hope everyone gets to experience at some point in their time here at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½. Coming off of a virtual main event last year, we gained some background knowledge on how to provide an experience beyond campus and that helped with this year’s planning. While it was difficult at times, we persevered and spent countless days, weeks, and months to plan a hybrid main event that we are so proud of.

It will definitely be an event like no other we have done in the past two decades, but if you asked anyone on our executive board, I think majority of us would say there is no place we would rather be.

Our hope for this year is to reach audiences we haven’t been able to in the past, people we wouldn’t have been able to connect with otherwise and establish a broader presence on our ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ campus.

“Looking ahead at the next 25 years, we hope that legacy continues because our hospital doors never close.”

This year we’re celebrating 25 years of Knight-Thon β€” 25 years’ worth of passion for a cause that allows all of the participants to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Looking ahead at the next 25 years, we hope that legacy continues because our hospital doors never close.

Despite the number we will lift up Sunday morning, we hope that our impact will be the bravery that it took to fight as hard as we could for a cause that we love so much in the middle of a pandemic.

There will always be pediatric patients and families that need us and if we all continue to band together to fight for them, imagine the brighter tomorrow that could exist.

To learn more about Knight-Thon and how you can getΒ involved with the cause, visit

ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ students raisedΒ $865,598.60Β toΒ benefitΒ local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.Β They still revealed theΒ results of their fundraising effortsΒ at the end of theirΒ annualΒ 20-hour dance marathon β€” only instead of coming togetherΒ β€œfor the kids” at Addition Financial Arena,Β they flashed their results on individual computer screens.

β€œΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½Β students are some of the most determined people I have ever met,” saysΒ ZainebΒ Saied,Β a nonprofit management student and the executive director of Knight-Thon. β€œIn the face of adversity, time and time again, they choose to stand up for what they believe in and never let things get in their way. Not even a global pandemic can stop them from continuing to Charge On for the kids. This experience proved that.”

β€œNot even a global pandemic can stop [ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ students] from continuing to Charge On for the kids. This experience proved that.”

When it became evident that COVID-19 would cancel this year’s event, Knight-Thon’s leadership team immediately switched gears to figure out how to recreate a similar party on a virtual platform β€” and pull off the planning within 10 days.

SaiedΒ says she could not beΒ more proudΒ of the result,Β especially after a challenging and emotionally taxing year.

Last June, one of the executive board members, London Harrell, died in a hit-and-run crash. Shortly after, one of the group’s β€œMiracle Kids,” who was well known among Knight-ThonΒ participants,Β diedΒ after long-term health complications.

β€œIt felt like the world had gone still,” Saied says. β€œIt was hard to make sense of whyΒ this kept happening andΒ howΒ to keep moving. These two members of our Knight-Thon family quickly became everyone’s motivations to do more than we ever had.Β We workedΒ hard to plan an event that did them both justice in remembering and honoring them.”

Every year, one of the most meaningful moments of the event occurs when a β€œmiracle family” shares their story with the dancers, and everyone is able to cut off the symbolic hospital band on their wrist, which was given to each participant at the start of the marathon.

β€œIt’s aΒ moment that every child in a hospital looks forward to because it normally means they are better and they get to go home,” Saied says.Β β€œI was determined to make it virtual.”

Saied’s team designed a graphic that acted as everyone’s virtual hospital band. Participants wrote their names on them and posted to their social media accounts to show they were committed to participating in the marathon.

β€œWe lost one of our Miracle Kids this summer, andΒ something she always dreamed of being able to do was get her hospital band cut off. Her mom, with so much strength and courage,Β filmedΒ a video for us explaining how Knight-Thon’s dedication to this cause has brought their family so much hope,Β and how she wished her daughter could’ve been here to see it. It was a really special moment that really showed everyone why Knight-Thon’s work is so important.”

Jan. 1 – Β After ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ completed their first perfect football season and a 34-27 defeat over Auburn at the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, former ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ linebackerΒ Shaquem Griffin ’16Β admires the championship trophy. Shaquem made history in April when he became the first one-handed player to be drafted in the NFL, joining his brotherΒ Shaquill Griffin ’16Β on the Seattle Seahawks’ team.

Jan. 21 – A student takes some time between classes to stretch out on Memory Mall.

Feb. 23 – Engineering graduate student Estefania Bohorquez ’17 shows off her aerial acrobatic skills.

March 14 – Studio art major John Currie ’18 works on a special portrait of John C. Hitt to honor his 26 years of service as ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s fourth president.

April 5 – Singer Jesse McCartney performs at CFE Arena during ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½estival’s concert night.

April 7 – This year, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ raised more than $1.5 million for Knight-Thon, an annual dance marathon that benefits Children’s Miracle Network.

April 13 – Director of jazz studies and Pegasus Professor Jeff Rupert conducts a performance during ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Celebrates the Arts.

May 1 – After a six-month closure, a cute pup takes a dip in the newly renovated Reflecting Pond, which now has a new foundation and color-changing LED lights. *Note: Dogs are not allowed in the water, so don’t try this on your own.

May 3 – During his final commencement ceremonies, former ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ President John C. Hitt conferred degrees to more than 8,100 students. In October of last year,Β Hitt announced he would be stepping down from the presidency on June 30, 2018. Former ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ provost Dale Whittaker became the university’s fifth president on July 1.

June 5 – Senior studio art major Jenna Chastain works with clay during an art class in the Visual Arts building.

June 5 – Β While in a lab, aΒ student works on a project involving display screens and motorcycle helmets.

June 20 – Two students raced to the top of the Climbing Tower located in the .

June 29 – Construction on the new ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Downtown campus is underway and on schedule to open Fall 2019.

Aug. 2 – After partnering with two other institutions to manage the Arecibo Observatory earlier this year, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ President Dale Whittaker traveled to Puerto Rico for a visit to the facility.

July 27 – An instructor at the demonstrates how to put out a fire during a cooking class.

Aug. 21 – Afternoon Florida storm clouds cover campus as students make their return during the first week of fall classes.

Sept. 5 – The sun rises over the Charging Knight statue outside ofΒ Spectrum Stadium.

Sept. 5 – Campus on a quiet morning.

Sept. 19 – After more than a year of waiting, popular local taco spot Gringos Locos opened its ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ location in Knights Plaza.

Sept. 21 – The get ready to perform on the football field during half-time at the game against Florida Atlantic University.

Sept. 29 – Knightro and the cheer team entertain a packed stadium during ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s game against Pittsburg, which ended in a 45 – 14 win for the Knights.

Oct. 2 – During the evening, the Pegasus on the lights up the building.

Oct. 3 – After serving as ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s interim provost since April, Elizabeth A. Dooley has become the university’s provost and vice president for .

Oct. 30 – In August, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ partnered with the Nemours Children Hospital to create PEDS Academy, a program that provides specialized STEM education to children hospitalized at the facility.

Nov. 8 – Students light up CFE Arena during Homecoming 2018‘s Concert Knight, which featured performances from rapper A$AP Ferg and singer Ella Mai.

Nov. 9 – Students show off their excitement as they prepare to take part in ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s biggest Homecoming tradition – .

Nov. 9 – During this year’s Spirit Splash, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ President Dale Whittaker jumped into the Reflecting Pond alongside students. He promised take part in the tradition if 50,000 students would attend the first five home football games of the 2018 season – more than 55,000 students took on the challenge.

Dec. 1 – Β After joining Knight Nation this football season, makes an appearance at the American Athletic Conference Championship game, during which fans wore leis to show their support for injured quarterback McKenzie Milton. ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Athletics gave out 40,000 leis to fans in the spirit of #10hana, a movement that started in the local community and on social media.

Dec. 1 – During theΒ American Athletic Conference title game against Memphis,Β 45,176 fans packed the stands as ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ secured a 56 -41 victory, extending their undefeated streak to 25 games and advancing them to the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2019.

The record number of $1,250,961 is $249,283 more than last year’s total and was raised by teams of students led by Knight-Thon’s 150 student members. Knight-Thon is the largest student-run philanthropy group at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½.

Students collected for a year leading up to Knight-Thon, where more than 1,000 students danced in the CFE Arena for 20 hours this past weekend to β€œstand for those kids who can’t,” said Alex Diaz, Knight-Thon’s communications manager. β€œThere are kids in the hospital fighting for their lives who can’t physically stand with us, but they know we’re standing for them.”

Knight-Thon for 21 years has given ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ students an outlet to give back, but also to showcase their creativity.

Paige Wilson, for instance, combined her photography skills with her passion of helping children in need. Her friends at the end of the fall 2016 semester asked if she would take their graduation and professional headshot photos, and that’s when the idea came: She could use photography as a means to raise money for Knight-Thon.

Wilson began charging $5 for professional headshot photos, often used for student’s LinkedIn profiles, but due to the demand she was able to up the price to $15 to benefit the charitable campaign. She also began charging $20 for a graduation photo session, but increased it to $30.

β€œIt just really took off through my photography Instagram account and through word of mouth,” she said.

Previously, Wilson sought donations by approaching people around campus. People would donate spare change and a few dollars, but she quickly found photography was a more effective way to fundraise. She took 40 headshot photos, graduation photos for four people and raised $700 through photography alone. In total, she raised $1,000 for Knight-Thon.

Bianca Ungerman, a senior studying hospitality who has a love of supernatural stories, channeled her former screenwriting studies to create a fictional ghost tour around campus at Halloween. One of the stories she told was of a late student who haunts every Spirit Splash because she never caught a ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Homecoming rubber duck.

β€œI love going on ghost tours when I visit new places, and so I thought this would be a fun way to raise money,” Ungerman said. β€œI went on my first ghost tour in Key West as a kid and I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Three ghost tours drew 130 attendees, raising about $150 for Ungerman’s Knight-Thon fundraising drive. She charged $1 for the tour, but some donated more.

Halloween wasn’t her only holiday-themed fundraising event. For Valentine’s Day, Ungerman offered $10 cakes and raised $100. These events helped her meet her personal fundraising goal of $1,000.

Freshman biomedical sciences student Eric Topolewski put his outgoing personality and hobby of performing to use for Knight-Thon. By wearing elaborate costumes like Marvel Comics’ Deadpool character, Topolewski raised $632 of his $1,532 total by simply asking for donations around campus.

β€œCostumes catch people’s eyes,” said Topolewski. β€œWhen you’re wearing a costume, people take the time to figure out what you’re doing. It shows people you’re really committed to whatever you’re advocating for.”

Plus, Topolewski is used to wearing costumes. He’s a Halloween Horror Nights scare actor at Universal Studios, and formerly was his high school’s mascot and participated in theater.

β€œAll that experience just led to me wearing costumes again to benefit Knight-Thon,” he said.

Thirteen contestants participated in talent, professional wear and interview segments before three guest judges: Mr. ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ 2016 Luke Hogue, Julie Ludwig, the 2015 Mr. & Miss Hospitality Fan Favorite winner, and Deborah Weissberg, an instructor at Rosen College. The 2015 Mr. and Miss Hospitality winners, Dale Reyes and Moriah Tate, served as pageant hosts.

Both Renoir and Flint received $250 scholarships courtesy of the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Student Government Association. Rosen Life also partnered with Knight-Thon to calculate the Fan Favorite votes. The audience had the opportunity to vote for their favorite contestant during the show by depositing dontations into their respective Knight-Thon buckets. Junior hospitality management major Rachel Altfield was named β€œFan Favorite” and in total, the pageant raised $433 benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network.

Visit for more information about events or like .

Here’s a brief recap of POMP’s main community service activities in 2015:

4th Annual Pack to Attack Hunger 2015

On Nov. 14, POMP students joined other ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ students at the CFE Arena to package healthy meals for hungry children and families. Currently, one in six Floridians struggle with hunger every day. In total, the event packaged 151,000 meals for local children and families, 10,000 of which were sent to Zambia in Africa to feed orphans through the Family Legacy Zambia Tree of Life Organization.

1st Rent-A-Pup Event

The mission of Knight-Thon, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s Miracle Network Dance Marathon and largest student-run philanthropy, is to educate, inspire and unite our campus and community to provide ongoing support for Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Student teams raise money year-round through fundraising events and personal appeals. In the spring, students stand for 20 hours to celebrate their fundraising efforts and the children they have raised money to support.

In 2014, POMP and Rosen Life partnered to create the first Rosen College Knight-Thon team and raised more than $2,000.Β On Nov. 2, POMP partnered with Pet Rescue by Judy to fill the Rosen College campus with puppies that students could β€œrent” in exchange for donations to Knight-Thon. The event raised more than $500 in just four hours.

ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s Dance Marathon will be held at the CFE Arena on April 2.Β The Rosen College Miracle Makers team fundraising goal is $3,000.

Students, faculty and staff could “rent a pup” for 20 minutes and donate to the Rosen Miracle Makers, who have a fundraising goal of $3,000 for , benefiting Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. More than 115 students participated and helped raise more than $500 over the course of the event, in addition to producing countless smiles and laughs.

To learn more about Knight-Thon or to join the Rosen Miracle Makers team, students are invited to attend an upcoming information session at Rosen College on Nov. 9 at 3 p.m. or Nov. 10 at 6:30 p.m in Room 102R. Contact Bianca Stabile at biancastabile@knights.ucf.edu for more information.

Follow the on Facebook. Donations can be made online on their .

Chase was one of five candidates, including senior nursing student Elaine Gerlt, running for this prestigious title.

Prior to the announcement, Chase was honored simply for being selected as a representative on the Homecoming Royalty Court.

β€œI always saw members of the Homecoming Court as individuals that embodied ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ spirit and represented the student body,” says Chase. β€œI saw being named Homecoming Queen as a tremendous honor and would love the opportunity to achieve this title.”

Aside from earning this title, Chase’s other academic achievements include receiving the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Pegasus Gold Scholarship award in 2012 and most recently receiving the Marlie Kai Dodson Endowed ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Oncology Nursing Scholarship.Β  She has also made the president’s list and the dean’s list.

As a ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ student, Chase is involved in a number of organizations such as the Student Nurses Association, the President’s Leadership Council, and the 4EVER KNIGHTS Student Alumni Association.Β  She is also a member of Kappa Alpha Theta Women’s Fraternityβ€”the Greek chapter that nominated her for homecoming queenβ€”and serves on the Morale Team for Knight-Thon, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s largest student-run philanthropy.

For the next year, alongside Homecoming King, Jason Skidmore, Chase will represent the university by attending various events and embodying the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Creed. Chase will then have the honor of coming back and passing on her title to another student in fall 2016.

The homecoming board, made up of students, chooses applicants who meet the basic requirements which include having a 3.0 GPA and being of junior, senior or graduate student standing. Applicants must be nominated by an organization or group on campus and submit a resume with their application.

The event began Saturday at 11 a.m. and lasted 20 hours, ending 8 a.m. Sunday. More than 1,100 students attended and helped ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ go from the 12th largest Miracle Network dance marathon in the nation to the 7th largest. Knight-thon exceeded its goal of $500,000 and became the sixth largest amount raised this year across all children’s Miracle Network dance marathons.

β€œI am absolutely speechless,” said Drew Strochak, Knight-Thon director. β€œOver 1,000 students came together for one cause, and truly created a legacy for Knight-thon. Every penny of what we raised goes to the hospitals, and I am so proud to be a part of that.”

Knight-Thon increased its annual donation by 57 percent from last year’s $392,831, and has now raised more than $1.8 million for UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital, Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and the Neonatal Care Unit of Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies.

For information on how to get involved with Knight-Thon, visit .