I wrote this letter to UNI Dance Marathon as the Director of Public Relations in 2015. It was originally published on the UNI DM blog, but I wanted to share it on here as well.
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UNI DM has 35 miracle kiddos but there are thousands more around the world who are dealing with sickness just like our kiddos. Every single one of them, all around the world, have one thing in common. They all have a zero hour. That second in time where everything changed and normal was no longer normal. For many families, it happened within the first few hours of their child’s birth when the doctor told the parents that their child wasn’t perfectly healthy. Other families got the news after their child bumped their head playing soccer, went in for a checkup and found themselves sitting in the doctor’s office after receiving paralyzing news; their child had a life threatening illness.

Everybody has a zero hour, a defining moment where everything changes; a time in their life where normal is no longer normal. For our miracle kiddos and their families, they did not get to choose their zero hour, it just happened.

We have the opportunity to choose our zero hour, though. We get to choose when everything changes and we quit accepting normal as being normal. Our miracle kiddos did not get to choose the moment their lives changed forever, but we can choose ours. We can choose to have our zero hour RIGHT NOW.

I challenge you, make today your zero hour. Change your mind set about what Dance Marathon is all about. Don’t just let it be an event you attend once a year with your friends, but something you are passionate about. Dance Marathon strives to change lives by raising money for kiddos who didn’t pick their zero hour. Take the next two months and push yourself to your limits with fundraising for these kiddos. Every dollar counts and with your help, we can change lives.

Make today your zero hour, make today the day you commit to changing lives.

- DV