In a collaborative effort to raise awareness and funding for Doctors for Global Health (DGH)
while promoting exercise and healthy activities for the Syracuse University campus and the
community-at-large, a 12-hour dance marathon and fundraising event will be held
Saturday, Nov. 8 (starting at 2 p.m.), through Sunday, Nov. 9 (ending at 2 a.m.).
All members of the SU community and the larger public are invited to participate in this
first-of-its-kind event by DGH in Syracuse, which will be held at the Underground in the
Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center (303 University Place). The College of
Human Ecology and its Department of Health and Wellness are involved in supporting this
event. Campus and community musicians and dancers-including the Brazilian Dance
Ensemble, Guzman Dance Studio and SU Swing Club-will provide entertainment.
"We are all familiar with the statement 'think globally and act locally'-this event provides
us with an important opportunity for our local community to positively impact global health
needs," says Dessa Bergen-Cico, assistant professor in the Department of Health and
Wellness.
One of the goals of the DGH Syracuse Dance Marathon is to educate and inspire the
community about health and related worldwide needs in underserved communities by
mobilizing a few hundred dance participants who are financially supported by pledges. In
addition to staying awake and on their feet for 12 hours to raise money, the participants will
symbolize the mental and physical challenges faced by individuals suffering from the lack of
adequate health care and related services in their communities.
More information about the dance marathon, including how to sign up and pledge sheet forms,
can be found at http://www.dghonline.org/syracuse_marathon1.html. For questions or to register,
contact Nick Poulos at (315) 657-1258 or nppoulos@gmail.com.
DGH is a nonprofit organization that partners to bring health services to some of the poorest
developing countries through its unique community-based approach. DGH assists communities in
establishing sustainable care. Begun in 1995 with one project area in El Salvador, DGH now
operates also in Argentina, Chiapas, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru and Uganda. DGH has no paid
staff; all work is done by volunteers who work in their own locales; nearly 100 percent of donations
go directly to DGH project communities. DGH is composed of hundreds of health professionals,
students, educators, artists, attorneys, engineers, retirees and others committed to building long-
term relationships between people and communities around the world to find effective solutions to
social justice issues.
About the College of Human Ecology at Syracuse University
The College of Human Ecology is dedicated to excellence in professional academic education
and integrates Scholarship in Action as a philosophy and method in all of its degree
programs. The college brings together a rich history of academic programs whose signatures
of social responsibility and justice join new and evolving majors reflective of educating global
citizens whose leadership can-and does-change the places and peoples where they live
and work.
Previously known as the College of Human Services and Health Professions until it was
renamed in 2007, the College of Human Ecology hosts seven departments with strong roots
in SU history: Child and Family Studies; Health and Wellness; Hospitality Management;
Marriage and Family Therapy; Nutrition Science and Dietetics; Sport Management; and the
School of Social Work.
