Spirits at Troy: The Spirit of Philanthropy and Fun
By Kelly Kinas ‘17
This past Friday, October 31st, Residential Student Government put on a safe trick-or-treating event for children in the surrounding areas. Every building government, from Parkside to Pardee to Cardinal Gardens, had a booth for children to do some spooky activity and receive candy. One of my favorites was Mark’s Tower of Terror.
I personally might be biased on this event because I took part planning it last year when I was in RSG and now one of my best friends, Maariyah, is the VP of Community Outreach this year. Nevertheless, throughout all the trials and tribulations that were conquered, the event ended up being a huge hit for the hundreds of kids that showed up.
Every alley of Alumni Park was full of different fun activities for the kids to do from feeling brains (spaghetti) or trying your hand at Quidditch. There were many an Elsa and actually quite a few Ninja Turtles.
This was especially interesting for me because, not only was I a part of this event last year, Dance Marathon had a booth this year! Our booth had some very brave, very young men and women reach into a box and feel “brains” and “guts” (or what we, college students, call spaghetti and jello). It was super special for us because two of our Miracle families joined in the fun in Alumni Park.
A miracle family is the family of Children’s Miracle Network at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The money that is fundraised for Trojan Dance Marathon goes directly to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. What makes Trojan DM special is that most of our Miracle Children come to the event in Spring Semester and meet all of the participants. The funds that Dance Marathon raises help save these children’s lives and they like to meet the people who made it happen… who could be you!!
Any USC student can register for Trojan Dance Marathon and if you fundraise $25, you get free food for the whole 12 hours and a T-Shirt! Throughout the 12-hour event, children perform and tell their stories as well as dance with all the people in the Tutor Campus Center Ballroom.
There are so many amazing philanthropic events at the University of Southern California and many of them collaborate on events like these. On behalf of Trojan Dance Marathon, Children’s Miracle Network, and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, I would like to thank Residential Student Government and Spirits at Troy for having such a fun event for our miracle children to participate in; many of the children in Children’s Miracle Network don’t get to have fun times outside the hospital or outside their homes, so this was a very special time for them.
Make sure to get involved and Fight On for the kids!
