On Friday, October 7, the JP Stevens FCCLA hosted their annual dance marathon. The carnival-themed event, complete with lots of delicious food, fun activities, and music, helped give back to the community with all proceeds going to the Hands of Hope food pantry in Edison, NJ. 

The Dance Marathon is an annual event that the JP FCCLA hosts. Since they were not able to hold the event last year due to a rise in COVID-19 cases, there was more planning required this year, resulting in the creation of three new committees: a decorations committee, snacks and refreshments committee, and an entertainment committee. Members of FCCLA were dedicated to the cause and worked tirelessly in the days leading up to the event. Members worked diligently to help advertise the dance through the use of posters.

“Though I was the committee chair, putting the Dance Marathon together was certainly a group effort and couldn’t have been possible without our dedicated chapter members and officers,” senior Diya Pottangadi said. “The day was very action packed with setting up for the Dance Marathon, but our members had a lot of fun figuring everything out and putting it together!”

Along with a food drive that accompanies the Dance Marathon, the proceeds from the event were given to the Hands of Hope food pantry to serve the Edison community. As many donations are made by youth organizations, the pantry can run dry towards the end of summer, so it is important that the pantry receives donations during the start of the school year to restock on necessary food items. This event supported t community and the initiative to fight hunger.

“We were inspired to hold a Dance Marathon because we wanted to give back to our community with a service initiative,” junior Amanda Chen said. “The Dance Marathon was a great way for our chapter to come together to coordinate this event.”

Finally on the day of the event, the doors were opened at 4 p.m. for students to enter the new gym with decorations, refreshments, and entertainment all tailored to fit the carnival theme. For example, the decorations committee created animal posters, arranged a colorful balloon-arch, and hung up streamers around the gym. Meanwhile, the entertainment committee had set up a station with Hollywood-style light signs, a DJ booth, a face-painting booth, a scooter race, a ring toss, bowling, and a photo booth. The snacks and refreshments committee helped cater appetizing treats for everyone to enjoy, such as customized popcorn from the popcorn machine, dozens of cupcakes, brownies, chocolate-covered pretzels, and lemonade. Pizza bagels were also baked by FCCLA members which were donated by La Bagel and Brewed Awakening in Metuchen. 

At 6 p.m., the annual Dance Marathon had come to a close. The event proved to be a huge hit, with over $400 raised for the Hands of Hope food pantry.