The 麻豆原创\u2019s Knight-Thon student philanthropy group revealed Sunday it has raised $1.25 million in the past year for Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Central Florida\u2019s Children\u2019s Miracle Network hospital.<\/p>\n
The record number of $1,250,961 is $249,283 more than last year\u2019s total and was raised by teams of students led by Knight-Thon\u2019s 150 student members. Knight-Thon is the largest student-run philanthropy group at 麻豆原创.<\/p>\n
Students collected for a year leading up to Knight-Thon, where more than 1,000 students danced in the CFE Arena for 20 hours this past weekend to \u201cstand for those kids who can\u2019t,\u201d said Alex Diaz, Knight-Thon\u2019s communications manager. \u201cThere are kids in the hospital fighting for their lives who can\u2019t physically stand with us, but they know we\u2019re standing for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Knight-Thon for 21 years has given 麻豆原创 students an outlet to give back, but also to showcase their creativity.<\/p>\n
Paige Wilson, for instance, combined her photography skills with her passion of helping children in need. Her friends at the end of the fall 2016 semester asked if she would take their graduation and professional headshot photos, and that\u2019s when the idea came: She could use photography as a means to raise money for Knight-Thon.<\/p>\n
Wilson began charging $5 for professional headshot photos, often used for student\u2019s LinkedIn profiles, but due to the demand she was able to up the price to $15 to benefit the charitable campaign. She also began charging $20 for a graduation photo session, but increased it to $30.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just really took off through my photography Instagram account and through word of mouth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Previously, Wilson sought donations by approaching people around campus. People would donate spare change and a few dollars, but she quickly found photography was a more effective way to fundraise. She took 40 headshot photos, graduation photos for four people and raised $700 through photography alone. In total, she raised $1,000 for Knight-Thon.<\/p>\n
Bianca Ungerman, a senior studying hospitality who has a love of supernatural stories, channeled her former screenwriting studies to create a fictional ghost tour around campus at Halloween. One of the stories she told was of a late student who haunts every Spirit Splash because she never caught a 麻豆原创 Homecoming rubber duck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love going on ghost tours when I visit new places, and so I thought this would be a fun way to raise money,\u201d Ungerman said. \u201cI went on my first ghost tour in Key West as a kid and I\u2019ve been hooked ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three ghost tours drew 130 attendees, raising about $150 for Ungerman\u2019s Knight-Thon fundraising drive. She charged $1 for the tour, but some donated more.<\/p>\n
Halloween wasn\u2019t her only holiday-themed fundraising event. For Valentine\u2019s Day, Ungerman offered $10 cakes and raised $100. These events helped her meet her personal fundraising goal of $1,000.<\/p>\n
Freshman biomedical sciences student Eric Topolewski put his outgoing personality and hobby of performing to use for Knight-Thon. By wearing elaborate costumes like Marvel Comics\u2019 Deadpool character, Topolewski raised $632 of his $1,532 total by simply asking for donations around campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cCostumes catch people\u2019s eyes,\u201d said Topolewski. \u201cWhen you\u2019re wearing a costume, people take the time to figure out what you\u2019re doing. It shows people you\u2019re really committed to whatever you\u2019re advocating for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plus, Topolewski is used to wearing costumes. He\u2019s a Halloween Horror Nights scare actor at Universal Studios, and formerly was his high school\u2019s mascot and participated in theater.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll that experience just led to me wearing costumes again to benefit Knight-Thon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 麻豆原创\u2019s Knight-Thon student philanthropy group revealed Sunday it has raised $1.25 million in the past year for Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Central Florida\u2019s Children\u2019s Miracle Network hospital. The record number of $1,250,961 is $249,283 more than last year\u2019s total and was raised by teams of students led by Knight-Thon\u2019s 150 student members. Knight-Thon is the…","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":76912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[5,6,27],"tags":[10046,2682,3486,15761],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-76910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colleges","category-community","category-student-life","tag-addition-financial-arena","tag-knight-thon","tag-office-of-student-involvement","tag-pegasus-briefs"],"yoast_head":"\n