Cooper Thomas was born 14 weeks early, weighing only 15 ounces. Doctors told his parents his chances of survival were slim.

Today, Thomas is alive and well at 14, and joined Elon University students April 13 and 14 to help raise money for Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center at the 10th annual ELONTHON.

ELONTHON is a 24-hour dance marathon that raises money for Duke Children’s Hospital, part of the Children’s Miracle Network. Since 2003, ELONTHON has been the largest student-run philanthropic endeavor on campus.

Photo gallery: View photos and video from the 2012 ELONTHON

Participants enjoyed food, dancing and entertainment, as well as testimonials by children like Thomas and their families who have been helped by the children’s hospital. These children are known as “miracle children” — children with diseases, injuries or birth defects that receive or have received treatment at Duke Children's Hospital.

Mason Lindley, a child injured in a lawn mower accident, was ELONTHON's first miracle child and attended each year until passing away in 2005 at the age of six. His family still attends the event to raise awareness and speak out about the work being done to support the children.

Participants were required to stand for the entire duration of their shift, with the intention of helping them understand any pain and fatigue they felt was small in comparison to the hardships the children face daily.

This year’s dance marathon raised $105,397.64 for the children’s hospital and welcomed more than 1,000 participants. Of these, 300 students chose to participate for 24 hours straight, while others rotated in six-hour shifts.

“I think this year was such a success because we implemented a new online donation system that allowed us to raise over $100,000 by the end of the event, which has never been done before in previous years’ events,” said Margaret Rowland, director of operations for ELONTHON. “It was especially important because this was the 10th anniversary of ELONTHON.”

According to Rowland, money donated to Duke Children’s Hospital will go toward a wide variety of needs, ranging from purchasing small diapers for premature babies to buying toys for children who are sick in the hospital on Christmas morning.

“Since we began work on planning for the event last July, we made some huge changes that I think really paid off,” said Jennifer Petinge, facilities chair for ELONTHON.  “There was more entertainment than in past years and we really tried to utilize social media during the event with a Twitter feed. We heard so many positive remarks and comments from students during the event. It was so great to hear.”

[quote]I hope that some of the stigma of standing and dancing for the event disappears from Elon and that students can understand why they’re participating and how awesome of a cause it is. - Jennifer Petinge, facilities chair for ELONTHON [/quote]

Entertainment included DJs, carnival games, Zumba instruction, competitive jump rope team SkipSations and performances by Elon’s a cappella groups, among others.

During each shift, a coordinated dance called the “morale dance” was also taught to participants. The routine was created by the morale chair and is centered around the event’s theme each year. This year’s ELONTHON theme was “Come Sail Away.”

Ultimately, Petinge said she hopes students will appreciate the true meaning of ELONTHON even more in years to come.

“I hope that some of the stigma of standing and dancing for the event disappears from Elon,” Petinge said. “And that students can understand why they’re participating and how awesome of a cause it is.”