On Nov. 11, the Shawnee Mission South JV and Varsity Pacesetters will host their 6th annual Dance Marathon. The night includes food, good music and many prizes.

“I really enjoy dance marathon. It’s a chance to go to a dance without needing to dress formally or bring a date. It’s just fun and everyone gets a bunch of free food and prizes,” senior varsity Pacesetter Caroline Cooper said.

Each year the group chooses a different charity to donate part of the money raised to. This year, the charity is Project Hope and Peace, which provides music, education and activities for Syrian refugee children to keep them away from the horrible things that are happening around them.

“I chose this charity because it’s a problem I personally feel passionately about and I know the more support these kids have, the more they will be able to be a strong generation to rebuild their country,” Cooper said.

The money that is raised from tickets sold by the Pacesetters goes directly to them to pay for costumes, competition fees, and more. The tickets sold at the door and the money donated goes to the charity. The JV and varsity teams worked together to get donations from local businesses. They were put into groups and went out to businesses to ask for either monetary donations or an item from the specific store, such as a Juice Stop gift card or a necklace from a jewelry store. The groups also got the word out there for the charity and the school. These items are either used as a raffle item, which can be won with a ticket, or given out as prizes for winning a game.

“My group this year, we got some really good donations,” senior varsity Pacesetter Emily Featherston said. “We went to GolfTec and they gave us a $125 swing evaluation, which I think will help get golfers into dance marathon hopefully. We have a $200 watch that is just beautiful and I wish I could enter in the raffle for it. I know all of the groups have gotten something really cool from different spots around town.”

The Pacesetters’ theme for this year’s dance is “Dancing in Space.” Decorations at the event will include planets and other intergalactic items. All Pacesetters also perform at this event, showcasing some of their competition dances.

“I like the theme. We’ve had a lot of different themes in the past but i really like this one. It seems like it’s gonna be really cool,” Featherston said

Throughout the week, they have been participating in their own spirit week leading up to the event. Some of the days being Tutu Tuesday and Space Day. The purpose of this week is to try to get people involved and interested in the event.

“Spirit week is meant to get people to notice you so you need to go all out for dance marathon spirit week,” Cooper said.  “You want people to ask you in the hallway or in your classes why you’re dressed oddly so that you can tell them about dance marathon and encourage them to go.”

Last year, they raised $4,000 for a dance studio in Kansas City and donated several costumes. This year they hope to raise $5,000 to help the children in need.