FAIRBORN — Wright State University will be hosting their 10th annual Raiderthon — a student-led fundraising event dedicated to providing local children’s hospitals with the funds they need — next month.

Raiderthon, a 12-hour long fundraising dance party, will take place on Saturday, April 1, from noon to midnight. A $10 donation is required to attend, and all proceeds will go directly to Dayton Childrens Hospital benefitting the sick and injured children in need of care.

According to the Maria Washler, event planner and vice president of marketing and public relations, the event is paid for in full by the universities budget.

“We get a budget for the planning of Raiderthon” said Washler. “It’s paid for by the university.”

This ensures that everything raised by Raiderthon will go directly to Dayton Children’s Hospital, without a need tocover the costs of putting on the event.

In addition to the dance marathon, there will be inflatables and games for all ages. Food will be available, and there will be a raffle that can be played in person, or tickets can be bought online. Washler is hoping that this year’s event, because it’s the 10th anniversary, could be the biggest one yet.

“It’s been growing every year since COVID,” she said.

The event will take place at Wright State University in the Apollo Room located in the Student Union. Everyone is welcome but must first register online at www.raiderthon.org.

Since it was created, the Wright State Miracle Makers organization has raised over $400,000 for local children’s hospitals, and it has a goal of $57,000 for this years event. The dance marathon itself was founded in Indiana University, according to Washler, but spread to Wright State in 2013.

Wright State Miracle Makers is a student-led organization that is part of the Miracle Network Dance Marathon, a similarly student-led year-round movement that reaches more than 400 college campuses and has raised a grand total of $3 million in donations since 1991. These donations are for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals), which stretches across the U.S. and Canada to raise funds for 170 local hospitals just like Dayton Childrens Hospital.

Miracle Children representitives will also be present at the dance marathon sharing stories about how these donations have helped them and encouraging those to donate to the hospital.

Those hoping to support the event but cannot attend are still able to donate online at www.raiderthon.org.