Northwestern University event benefits Blessings in a Backpack

More than 1,000 students at Northwestern University danced for 30 consecutive hours recently to raise money and awareness for Blessings in a Backpack as part of its annual Northwestern University Dance Marathon.

The marathon's donation - more than $920,000 - was the largest one-time donation to Blessings in a Backpack in the organization's history, and will help provide nearly 350,000 meals for students in need.

Northwestern University Dance Marathon, in its 42nd year, is the largest entirely student-run philanthropy in the nation. After an extensive application process, students coordinating NUDM spend the year building a relationship between the university, the student body and Blessings in a Backpack. Northwestern students spent 830 hours volunteering for Blessings in a Backpack and packed more than 12,000 backpacks of food for elementary school students.

Blessings in a Backpack is a 501(c)3 organization that, through an all-volunteer network, mobilizes communities, individuals and resources to provide food on the weekends for elementary schoolchildren across America, who might otherwise go hungry.

Blessings in a Backpack currently provides nearly 3 million hunger-free weekends to 85,000 children in 45 states and the District of Columbia.

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