“Cancer is a scary, scary thing. It’s a scary, scary word, but it’s something that we have to fight” -Allie Stutting, DM 26 Executive Director.  

Throughout Dance Marathon 26, that’s exactly what we are going to do. We are going to fight. Members and supporters of Dance Marathon gathered on August 29 for the release of a year- long campaign meant to pave the way for a positive attitude and motivation for DM 26. Standing in support of the Maya Gilchrist family, we listened as they told their story. Maya Gilchrist, 13, has been fighting pediatric cancer since she was only 18 months old. By sharing their story with us, Maya and her family reminded us why we do what we do and why we can never give up the fight. They reminded us what being a part of Dance Marathon means. They are the perfect example of overcoming the seemingly impossible. Families like Maya encourage Dance Marathon students to overcome, believe, and fight. Not only fight, but fight beside them and beside each other. Together.  

We fight together – both the campaign for DM 26 and the three words that will lead and impact how we fight this year. We fight together because, as the Maya Gilchrist family said, “this is about making it not about cancer, but about making sure the kids still have a childhood and still have fun, instead of just having a sad diagnosis.” We fight together to make miracles. We fight together to support others and support each other. We fight together because fighting together is better than fighting alone. By fighting together, we will make more happen. Together, we give up on no one. No one fights alone when it’s up to us.  

After the campaign release, the Executive Director of DM 26, Allie Stutting, expressed how she feels about the campaign: “I’m so excited to have this movement released to the public, it’s been something we’ve been creating for about 4 months, so to have it out in the open for our supporters and viewers is amazing. We fight together is something we can all get together on as a community and organization to make sure no pediatric cancer patient ever has to fight alone.”

This year, we will fight together. We will never stop fighting until we have won the fight against pediatric cancer.

By: Jenna Vogel, DM 26 PR Committee