this is dance marathon!!!

This is just a little message to say thank

you!

This was the weekend of Dance Marathon!

It’s a 26-hour event benefiting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation, Camp Kindle, and Camp

Heartland, camps for children living with

or affected by HIV/Aids.

The Dance Marathon at UCLA is is a unique

and

unforgettable experience.

It has become a tradition at UCLA not only to do it every year but also to

grow. Each year, the Dance Marathon at UCLA raises more money and spreads more awareness about the cause - this year we were featured on 3 separate

news broadcasts and the L.A. times!

This weekend we didn’t just dance - we danced for a

cause, we danced for a cure.

Participating in the Dance Marathon is an eye-opening experience

every year - it’s always fun and it’s a gripping testament to he difference people can make when they set

out to do so.

I want to sincerely thank you for your support, both financial and emotional, for your

help with fundraising and your encouragement.

This is just a little message

to show you what I did this weekend, to give you a glimpse

into those 26 amazing hours of dancing, to show you what we accomplished, and how in just

26 hours we made a difference.

It was 11am on February 16th, 2008

and we were ready…

We had one amazing team - the Solid Gold Sound of the UCLA Bruin Marching Band,

… ready to dance…

…for 26 hours straight!

…and thanking our feet in advance…

Look!

Those

are

mine!

So after stretching…

we got up and danced!

The themes are what got us through it.

Every 3 hours - a new LA-related theme…

The theme of the night…

…every 3 hours - costume change!

Just wait till you see mine!

Los Angeles. Big City. Bigger Cause

Clueless about the cause?

AS IF!

That’s my little sis from the

music sorority!Team Yellow dominated the preppy theme!

12:00 - 3:00 pm - 90210

3:00 - 6:00pm - Beachin’

What did you expect? We live in L.A., beach

season started in January!

Swimsuits in February?

6:00 - 9:00pm - Hollywood

I decided to be a little more fun.

=)

Most people went for the glamorous Hollywood.

Leopard-print lingerie top…

…mismatching belt…

Could it get any worse? You should’ve seen my drunk dancing impersonations!

…mini skirt…

…Uggs…

…fishnet stockings…

9:00 - 12:00am - 1984 Olympics

Doing the hair flip to the love

shack song!

JAZZERCISE!

but Dance Marathon is about so much more than just dancing.

Children are diagnosed with HIV every day. Some live with it not because of their own

reckless behavior and not because their mothers had it. One boy who spoke to us, Reggie, is

living with HIV he got from a blood transfusion.

This can happen to anyone. Do you feel lucky? I do.

“Whoa! We’re half way there! Who-oh! Livin’ on a prayer! Take my hand and we’ll

make it, I swear! Who-oh! Livin’ on

a prayer!”

12:00 - 3:00am - Club DM

13 hours done - 13 to go. The song was very appropriate.

Saturday

night, we would’ve been dancing at a club anyway, might as well do it for a cause, right?

3:00 - 6:00am - Disneyland

These are my Minnie Mouse

ears!

We couldn’t believe that we were still awake at 5am and still

dancing!

Our feet were starting to hurt, but the committee didn’t let us forget why we were doing it…

Benjamin walked up on stage and told 1,000 people about his

experiences growing up with HIV. He was diagnosed with the

disease at age 4. The doctors told him he

would live until 12.

We were doing this for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation. And this is how it

makes a difference.

Benjamin is 26.

Thanks to the medication discovered through the research funded by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation,

Benjamin’s HIV is now undetectable.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation makes a huge difference in research,

advocacy, and education. They are the reason Benjamin and other kids can get that phone call from their doctors, telling them that their

HIV is undetectable.

I’m proud to have helped.

6:00 - 9:00am - Downtown L.A.

My actual work

uniform!

They played Aqua’s

“Barbie Girl” song at

7:23am and it was the

highlight of my night!

9:00 - 12:00pm - UCLA School Pride

We performed and then went back to dancing! I couldn’t have asked for a better team!

That’s me!

I know, I know I’m a girl but I can’t help it…

I was waiting for James Franco

all night. 9:46am - it was

glorious.

I would’ve preferred no mustache but somehow

I survived.

February 17th, 1:00pm.

We counted down until it was time…

And everyone fell down on the floor!

So what is all that fundraising worth?

As a team, we raised…

That’s…

20 days at camp,

100 birthday presents for campers.

$7,518.51

342 shots of Nevirapine, which cuts the risk of mother to child transmission of AIDS in half,

and

This year Dance Marathon at UCLA raised…

384,507.80

Since its inception, the Dance Marathon at UCLA has raised over 1 million dollars.

So in just 26 hours…

I danced with my friends, wore my bikini, busted out with my silliest dance moves, wore fishnet stockings and Uggs, got to

see James Franco (!), made condom earrings, sang Gloria Gaynor’s I will

survive louder than I have ever before, earned major bragging rights, and most importantly contributed to the year we

broke a million.

I can’t thank you enough for your support

Because without your help and encouragement I

wouldn’t have been able to do any of

it.

Do you know what you’ll be doing February 14, 2009?

I do!