“Strong legs run so that weak legs may walk.”

When Strong Legs service club was founded in 2011 to give back to Shriners Hospital, that was its motto.

But, on Jan. 26, Strong Legs danced.

Last October, the University of South Florida (USF) reached out to Strong Legs’ advisor, Stacy Zuppa, asking if the club would start a mini dance marathon, and the South Tampa for Kids mini dance marathon was born. The original goal for the event was $3,000, but ended with a total of $4,725.

A dance marathon is typically a 12-48 hour event that consists of no standing, but a mini dance marathon is between four and six hours long.

USF has been partnering with high schools around Tampa for the past four years to organize mini dance marathons, but instead of creating a Robinson-only fundraiser, the Strong Legs service club extended the event to all of South Tampa.

“I was first by USF to do this,” Macy McClintock (’19), president of the event and past Shriners patient, said. “I didn’t think it would be a huge time commitment at first, but have put about 120 hours of work into it. I wouldn’t change that though, it’s been a blast.”

Shriners Hospital for children has been around since 1985 and provides orthopedic care at no cost to the families. The money raised will go towards funding new technology at the hospital.

Katie Kemp (’19) was the top fundraiser of the night, raising a total of $302 for the hospital

“It’s a really great cause and I thought it’d be a nice way for me to contribute,” Kemp said. “I found about it through Strong Legs club and my family really helped me raise money.”

Although the event took place this past Friday, you can still donate to the hospital. Click here to contribute.

If you have any interest on being on the planning committee for next year’s event, visit Stacy Zuppa in room 127.