Founded in 2013, Zippython is The University of Akron’s miracle network dance marathon chapter dedicated to raising money for Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) hospitals.

The first dance marathon chapter started in 1991 at Indiana University in the memory of a fellow student who passed away from HIV/AIDS, according to the dance marathon website.

Last year, each student-run chapter raised a total of over $43 million. All of those funds went directly to local CMN hospitals.

For Zippython, as well as the Kent State University and Walsh group, the local CMN hospital that receives 100 percent of the funds at the end of each academic year is Akron Children’s Hospital.

Junior Abigail McKenna, a social work major and executive director of Zippython, said last year the UA chapter was able to raise over $31,000.

“Our goal this year is $40,000,” McKenna said. “So we’re trying to do more fundraising activities throughout the year.”

One fundraising event Zippython hosted this semester was the Pie-a-Thon, where people could donate $3 in order to pie a member from one of the different student organizations involved.

This year, the Pie-a-Thon event brought in $200 in funds for Akron Children’s Hospital and potentially more awareness to Zippython’s efforts on campus.

Junior Alyssa Moses, an AYA integrated language arts major and entertainment director of Zippython, said one goal through this event aside from fundraising was to tell the campus community about their mission.

“People just don’t know we’re an organization and what we do,” Moses said. “So we’re trying to really step away from that and bring more awareness to us.”

Any student can get involved with Zippython in one of a few different ways. They can create a group within the organization, join an existing group or sign up as an individual.

Signing up with Zippython in any of these ways can be done through the miracle network’s dance marathon website.

For those who want to be active in the mission of Zippython beyond being a participant, they can sign up to become a committee member by contacting McKenna at [email protected].

McKenna and Moses encourage students to consider joining Zippython to not only become a part of something bigger than themselves, but to also help make a difference in children’s lives.

“It is a great feeling to be apart of something bigger than yourself,” McKenna said. “When joining Zippython, students are directly impacting a kiddos life. We have the ability to change a kid’s life and that is pretty cool.”