Candygrams, raw eggs, hot sauce: Anything for a good cause
Thousands of UConn students will dance for 18 hours straight to raise money for the Connecticut Children’s Foundation on Saturday, March 8 at the Hugh S. Greer Field House. Over 100 organizations on campus participate.
“HuskyTHON is an unimaginable organization because of the show of community and pride for something way bigger than ourselves as college students,” says Izzy Casais ’25 (CLAS), vice president of communications for HuskyTHON. “It’s not always about fundraising; it’s about the connections you can make with these children and their families.”
The fundraising campaign carries the mantra “Change the Tide” this year, Casais says. “It’s really just about changing the trajectory of children’s health and creating that lasting change. The momentum, the teamwork, the small wins is what we refer to.”
Raising money and awareness is a year-long process that leads up to one dance-filled day on campus. Casais says the HuskyTHON Management Team begins its campaigning in June, ten months before the big day.
Last year, UConn students raised a record $1.73 million for Connecticut Children’s. The funds raised support the Connecticut Children’s Greatest Needs Children’s Fund, which provides resources for immediate necessities at Connecticut Children’s.
Casais says that Greek life is usually responsible for a significant portion of the money raised. Last year, Delta Zeta Sorority was the top-earning group, with roughly $59,000 raised. “Our goal is really just to fundraise as much as we can,” says Nicole Fedor ’26 (CAHNR), dancer representative for Delta Zeta.
It’s not just Greek organizations involved. “Club sports are involved, and the D1 sports teams are involved. You can even just make your own team with your friends,” Fedor says.
Groups on campus use different strategies to raise money. “We usually do an event called Hot Ones,” says Jason Giambertone ’26 (BUS), the dancer representative for Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. The fraternity orders the hot sauces from the YouTube series Hot Ones. Members ask friends and family to donate, and the more money each person raises, the spicier the sauce they must eat.
