For the past several years, Westside’s Trunk or Treat, often organized by Student Council, has been an important part of celebrating halloween in the Westside community. However, this year, Westside’s Dance Marathon has made a successful addition to the occasion. 

In order to fundraise for their cause, Dance Marathon offered pumpkin painting to trunk-or-treaters. All of the proceeds went to help reach the program’s goal of $30,000 that will go directly to the Omaha Children’s Hospital at the end of the year.

Sophomore Violet Collins is the Dance Marathon Sponsorship Chair for the 2022-2023 school year. Collins said that one of the most important aspects of the new pumpkin painting event was to raise visibility for the program among the community.

“The event will help us raise more money, help people understand what [Dance Marathon] is and get more awareness for what it is we do,” Collins said.

The Dance Marathon program had its debut at Westside last year, raising over $25,000 during the course of the year for the Omaha Children’s Hospital.

“Dance Marathon is a fundraiser for kids who are getting treatment at Children’s Hospital and it’s usually in colleges and you do 24 hours of nonstop dancing for charity,” Collins said. “Over time, it’s kind of turned into something different, with a bunch of different fundraisers. And now, we are able to do it at the high school level.”

Senior Lizzie Smith is not only one of the Presidents of Dance Marathon, but also a Guardian of Student Council. Smith said that the two organizations collaborated to create a fun event for kids and parents that would benefit both programs.

“Trunk or Treat has been around at WHS for quite a while and we knew that it was a success among the community,” Smith said. “Dance Marathon came up with the idea to host pumpkin decorating with the intention that parents will appreciate a simple and somewhat mess free experience that is still fun for their kids. In order to achieve ultimate success on both ends, the groups decided to combine the two events.”

Westside’s Dance Marathon looks forward to hosting and participating in many more helpful fundraising opportunities, with a final “Warriorthon” event taking place at the end of the school year.

​”This year in Dance Marathon, I am looking forward to our Warriorthon final event where we reveal the total amount of money we have raised through the year,” Smith said. “I also look forward to watching and experiencing all the positive impacts Dance Marathon makes on the kids and families from Children’s [Hospital].”