The Dance Goes On: University of Delaware Brothers Set Fraternity Record for Funds Raised Benefitting Pediatric Cancer Research
“What do you think makes a man a man?”
“Here are our Core Values. Which do you think applies the most to you as a person?”
Upon entering Lambda Chi Alpha at the University of Delaware, Ty Kane (current UDance chairmain) was asked these challenging questions that forced him to take a closer look at himself as a person. Lambda Chi was the only fraternity he encountered where he was able to not only have easy conversations, but deep, meaningful ones as well.
This stuck with Kane and would lead him to join the fraternity, a decision he says he would make “a million times again.”
Now, as a senior, Kane is quickly approaching the end of his journey at the University of Delaware. But not before one of his favorite events of the year: UDance, which took place on March 11.
A year-round fundraising platform for the B+ Foundation, UDance helps raise funds for pediatric cancer research. The event also aims to help families affected by this tragic disease.
While students are encouraged to continue to fundraise throughout the year, the main event happens in the form of a 12-hour dance marathon. Here, dancers pledge to stay on their feet for 12 hours, dancing the night away to live music. For Kane and his fellow brothers, the joy of the event does not come from the adrenaline of the dancing, but the patients they have the opportunity to meet.
“The best part about UDance is the connections we make with children with cancer,” said Kane. “Every chapter is paired with a B+ Hero or a child who is diagnosed with cancer or has been in the past; even outside our chapter, seeing the smiles my peers can put on these children’s faces, the pure joy as they finally get their minds off their treatments and trials is absolutely incredible.”
The Lambda-Beta chapter was paired with Hayden Godwin. Throughout the year, the brothers have been able to spend time with him and act as a bright spot in his life. Through weeks upon weeks of fundraising efforts from the chapter, a record-breaking $46,083 was raised to help kids like Hayden. This is the most money a fraternity has ever raised for the B+ Foundation.
“Because we placed first in fundraising for fraternities, I got the honor of representing our chapter on stage,” recalled Kane. “Standing there, looking out on a crowd full of people committed to a charitable cause, and even more, seeing my brothers cheering me and themselves on for their achievement, it was the proudest moment of my life.
“I never saw myself as a leader, but with the opportunity our chapter gave me, I feel more confident than ever in my abilities to motivate, communicate, and mobilize a group of people.”
Kane believes that to be a part of a fraternity means to serve the community around you, and this is exactly what his chapter aims to do. From the time they started participating in UDance in 2007, the chapter has only become more involved.
Though UDance might be over, Kane assures that his philanthropic thirst will never be quenched. Kane might be leaving the university after this semester, but he will take with him these memories for the rest of his life.
“Of all the successes this fraternity has had, I could tell at our chapter meeting the following week [after UDance] that this was the one that brought the fraternity together, and that this was the one we’re going to hold on to for the rest of our lives.
“As an outgoing senior, I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished, and I couldn’t be happier for the state Lambda-Beta is in.”
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