CONTACT: Doug Carlson
(850) 645-1255; doug.carlson@med.fsu.edu

Sept. 18, 2017

Dance Marathon at Florida State University and Children’s Miracle Network at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital will present a check for more than $915,000 to the Florida State University College of Medicine to aid children throughout Gadsden and Leon counties.

The proceeds are part of the record $1.85 million raised earlier this year by Dance Marathon, the largest student-run philanthropy on the FSU campus. That money supports the Children’s Miracle Network at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital in Gainesville and the FSU College of Medicine’s pediatric outreach programs.

The presentation will take place:

The money invested locally supports a school-based primary-care health clinic at three schools in Gadsden County, where children often have inadequate access to care. The clinics represent a partnership among the College of Medicine, the Gadsden County Health Department and Gadsden County Schools.

The College of Medicine also shared funds in 2017 with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare to support pediatric services, including potentially lifesaving genetic screening for a few adolescents who otherwise could not get it. Some of the funds in 2017 supported pediatric services at Bond Community Health Center, Big Bend Hospice and the Young Parents Project at Early Head Start.

Set to participate in the presentation are Dr. J. Fogarty, dean of the FSU College of Medicine; representatives from UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital and from the organizations receiving funds; nurse-practitioner Susan LaJoie, who oversees the Gadsden school-based clinic; members of the Dance Marathon student executive committee, who will perform a brief dance; and students from the medical school’s Pediatrics Interest Group.