Fordham Dance Marathon (FDM) hosted their annual auction on March 1. The auction raises money for the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation, which helps support children with cancer, their families and researches cures. 

“The B+ Foundation recognizes that when a child becomes ill, it is extremely difficult to keep up with treatment expenses as well as living expenses,” said Emily Gill, FCRH ’22, FDM auction director. “The B+ helps families pay rent, car payments, prescription medications that insurances don’t cover and much more. The B+ Foundation also provides funding for pediatric cancer research projects globally.” 

FDM’s auction serves as one of their larger fundraising events. This year, the auction raised approximately $11,000 for the B+ Foundation. The auction was conducted using a hybrid format which, according to Gill, was an effective way to allow students to come in person, while still including alumni and other members of the Fordham community. People who won items while attending the auction virtually were sent their items by mail. 

This year’s auction featured more live auction prizes than in years past.“We had 74 raffle baskets and nine live auction prizes, doubling the amount of items from last year,” said Gill. 

The auction bid off a variety of items including the first housing slot, front row tickets to Campus Activities Board’s Spring Weekend bingo and speaker, tickets to the Lion King on Broadway, parking passes and a tour of the on-campus seismic station. However, according to DeAnna Vitiello, GSB ’23, auction chair of FDM, the most sought-after item at the auction was a Fordham monopoly board. 

“You can only get [the Monopoly Board] once a year at the auction and it is the cutest thing ever! All the properties on the board are references to Fordham and the money is McShane Dollars,” said Vitiello. 

While the auction has many items that have been featured in years past, this year, FDM also introduced a few new items for people to bid on. 

“New items introduced this year include Fordham Cornhole, a ‘Peanuts’ themed basket from Wildbrain, designer sunglasses donated by Cohen’s Fashion Optical and tickets to “Beetlejuice” on Broadway donated by Mimes and Mummers. Most of our donors have donated in previous years and we are extremely grateful for their continued support and generosity,” said Gill. 

Fordham Dance Marathon works with six children — or “heroes” — battling pediatric cancer and their families. The students in the club end up fostering relationships with each of the heroes and their families. They work all year with these families which culminates in a dance marathon in April. 

“The most rewarding thing to me is knowing that everything that I do on the board is to help and support a child with cancer and their family. These families are experiencing a nightmare and I am glad to know that we here at FDM can help take some of their financial burden off them so they can focus on other things,” said Vitiello.

In addition to the impact that FDM members have on the heroes, FDM offers an opportunity for students to foster meaningful relationships with each other. 

“I have met some of the most selfless and kind members of the Fordham community through FDM. FDM is a great way to make friends who share similar interests in making a difference, and these are friendships that will last a lifetime,” said Gill. 

FDM’s dance marathon will take place on April 2, and students can keep up with FDM and their events by following their Instagram page @fordhamdancemarathon.