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March Madness fans raise cash for Catholic Youth Center programs

<p>KINGSTON &#8212; Wyoming Seminary students prepared themselves to dance the night away Saturday at their sixth annual Sem Dance Marathon, raising money for a regional children&#8217;s hospital. There was only one rule: participants couldn&#8217;t sit down for six straight hours.</p><p>The Sem Dance Marathon is an annual event that raises money for Janet Weis Children&#8217;s Hospital at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. According to Harry Shafer, director of student life at the Wyoming Seminary Upper School, this year&#8217;s goal was to raise $20,000 for the children&#8217;s hospital, in the hopes of building a play deck area at the hospital.</p><p>Shafer said that the goal was the most ambitious set for the Sem Dance Marathon.</p><p>&#8220;We only began raising money about three and a half weeks ago,&#8221; Shafer said. &#8220;This is the most we&#8217;ve ever raised, and the shortest amount of time we&#8217;ve done it in.&#8221;</p><p>Shafer said that most of that money was raised by students drumming up support from family members and friends, but much of it was raised through the $20 entry fee the dancers put in, and even some viral social media posts.</p><p>&#8220;During the blizzard, we challenged students to jump into the snow in summer clothes in a video to raise money,&#8221; Shafer said.</p><p>Besides dancing, there were plenty of activities to keep students pumped between 5 and 11 p.m., including bounce houses, caricature sketches, a rock-paper-scissors tournament and, of course, food to keep the dancers energized.</p><p>Grace Leahy, 18, of Wilkes-Barre, is the president of student government at Wyoming Seminary. Leahy has been going to Sem Dance Marathons since she was a freshman, and is excited by what it does for the community.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the one day each year where everyone comes together as a community,&#8221; Leahy said. &#8220;We&#8217;re all working toward the same thing.&#8221;</p><p>Leahy said that the student body has been working hard to prepare for the dance marathon, working feverishly to prepare the event for an earlier point in the year than normal, so as to not interfere with end-of-the-year school work.</p><p>&#8220;We just love it,&#8221; Leahy said. &#8220;We see these families who have overcome deadly diseases at the hospital, and they&#8217;re living, breathing proof that the money we raise is helping.&#8221;</p><p>The Shaffer family, from Bloomsburg, is one of the families that has benefited from the Janet Weis Children&#8217;s Hospital and the money raised by the Sem Dance Marathon.</p><p>Stephanie Shaffer, 34, said that her daughter, Emma, 10, has been using resources made available by the Children&#8217;s Miracle Network, of which the children&#8217;s hospital is a part, and that without donations like those made by Wyoming Seminary, it&#8217;s unclear where she and the rest of the family would be.</p><p>&#8220;We see this as a way of celebrating where Emma has been and what the future holds,&#8221; Stephanie said.</p><p>Emma and the rest of the Shaffer family was one of four so-called &#8220;miracle families&#8221; on hand to take part in the festivities. Stephanie said that she was amazed by the Wyoming Seminary students, who were making sure that the younger kids were made to feel included.</p><p>&#8220;The students are so enthusiastic, and they&#8217;re so polite,&#8221; Stephanie said. &#8220;And they&#8217;re just so good with the kids.&#8221;</p><p>Toward the end of the event, perhaps in an attempt to give the dancers one last burst of energy, one final surprise was revealed to the student body: thanks to their efforts, their $20,000 goal had been met, securing the funds to go towards the planned play deck for Janet Weis Children&#8217;s Hospital.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary sophomore Molly Leahy, of Wilkes-Barre, center, carries &#8216;miracle kid&#8217; Kimmie Mingle, 4, during Saturday&#8217;s dance marathon benefitting the Children&#8217;s Miracle Network and The Janet Weis Children&#8217;s Hospital in Danville. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL040217DanceMarathon_2-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Seminary sophomore Molly Leahy, of Wilkes-Barre, center, carries &#8216;miracle kid&#8217; Kimmie Mingle, 4, during Saturday&#8217;s dance marathon benefitting the Children&#8217;s Miracle Network and The Janet Weis Children&#8217;s Hospital in Danville. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL040217DanceMarathon_3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Christina Kilyanek, of Pittston, right, signs the shirt of Becca Hammerman, of Shavertown, during the Wyoming Seminary Dance Marathon in Kingston on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL040217DanceMarathon_3-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Christina Kilyanek, of Pittston, right, signs the shirt of Becca Hammerman, of Shavertown, during the Wyoming Seminary Dance Marathon in Kingston on Saturday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL040217DanceMarathon_1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary senior Elizabeth Abraham, of Kingston, right, warms up during the dance marathon at the Carpenter Athletic Center on the Wyoming Seminary campus in Kingston on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL040217DanceMarathon_1-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wyoming Seminary senior Elizabeth Abraham, of Kingston, right, warms up during the dance marathon at the Carpenter Athletic Center on the Wyoming Seminary campus in Kingston on Saturday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL040217DanceMarathon_1-cmyk-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary senior Elizabeth Abraham, of Kingston, right, warms up during the dance marathon at the Carpenter Athletic Center on the Wyoming Seminary campus in Kingston on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL040217DanceMarathon_1-cmyk-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Wyoming Seminary senior Elizabeth Abraham, of Kingston, right, warms up during the dance marathon at the Carpenter Athletic Center on the Wyoming Seminary campus in Kingston on Saturday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL040217DanceMarathon_2-cmyk-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary sophomore Molly Leahy, of Wilkes-Barre, center, carries &#8216;miracle kid&#8217; Kimmie Mingle, 4, during Saturday&#8217;s dance marathon benefitting the Children&#8217;s Miracle Network and The Janet Weis Children&#8217;s Hospital in Danville. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL040217DanceMarathon_2-cmyk-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Wyoming Seminary sophomore Molly Leahy, of Wilkes-Barre, center, carries &#8216;miracle kid&#8217; Kimmie Mingle, 4, during Saturday&#8217;s dance marathon benefitting the Children&#8217;s Miracle Network and The Janet Weis Children&#8217;s Hospital in Danville. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL040217DanceMarathon_3-cmyk-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Christina Kilyanek, of Pittston, right, signs the shirt of Becca Hammerman, of Shavertown, during the Wyoming Seminary Dance Marathon in Kingston on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL040217DanceMarathon_3-cmyk-1.jpg</photo5><caption5>Christina Kilyanek, of Pittston, right, signs the shirt of Becca Hammerman, of Shavertown, during the Wyoming Seminary Dance Marathon in Kingston on Saturday. </caption5><photoCredit5>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Marathon raises more than $20,000</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6119.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wyoming Sem. students dance to raise money for sick children