By Nicholas Hellinghausen
This February will mark the 22nd edition of one of the largest and most anticipated events at the University of Connecticut: HuskyTHON. HuskyTHON is a yearlong fundraising campaign for the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, Connecticut. The campaign wraps up with an 18-hour dance marathon where the grand fundraising total is revealed.
This year, HuskyTHON will likely look different due to the COVID-19 virus, but it will still be filled with tons of entertainment and excitement. The pandemic has caused the HuskyTHON management team to alter some of the ways it prepares for the event.
HuskyTHON information sessions are taking place virtually, and there will be pre-recorded tabling videos that students can view in order to learn more about different aspects of the event. The management team is also utilizing social media and sending out email blasts to all registered participants to ensure that everybody is staying updated on the details of HuskyTHON.
Co-director of campus affairs for HuskyTHON, Katherine Monroe, and vice president of communications, Mitchell Lisowski, expressed excitement about how the management team has been working hard to incorporate unique elements into this year’s event.
“We get the chance to reshape and do some stuff that has never been done in the past 22 years that HuskyTHON has been on campus,” Lisowski said.
All the details for HuskyTHON this year are not ironed out yet, but one thing that is for sure is all students are welcomed and encouraged to participate.
“We are not a hundred percent sure what it will look like, but there will be a night where we celebrate our fundraising efforts with an 18-hour marathon and reveal our total at the end,” Lisowski said.
Students across all of UConn’s campuses and even students who are staying home next semester are eligible to participate in the celebration. Many of UConn’s clubs and organizations will have teams at HuskyTHON for students to join, or students can be a part of team Jonathan’s Huskies where they can meet students from all different majors.
“It is just a great way to meet other students who are also passionate about HuskyTHON and just make more connections on campus and really feel like you’re part of HuskyTHON’s family,” Monroe said about team Jonathan’s Huskies.
This year’s HuskyTHON is bound to be a memorable one. It will feature many components from previous years, like having appearances from miracle children, as well as new, interactive activities to ensure safe participation.
For updated information on HuskyTHON and to learn more about the history of the event, students can visit the HuskyTHON website.