In just a little more than one week, Apollo High School (AHS) will host its sixth annual eight-hour mini-marathon to support the University of Kentucky’s (UK) DanceBlue Hematology/Oncology Clinic at the Kentucky Children’s Hospital in Lexington.
The mini-marathon has been rescheduled for Sunday, Jan. 27 from 1-8 p.m. in the AHS gymnasium. Students will be on their feet and active throughout the evening with a “no-sitting, no-sleeping” rule.
The event will feature dancing, games and activities along with a different theme each hour. This year’s themes include game show hour, military hour, Olympics hour and Pixar movies hour. There will also be a special area for students to fill out cards or make gifts to send to patients at local cancer offices and the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center in Owensboro.
Apollo’s DanceBlue organizers work throughout the year to spread the information and mission of DanceBlue to students at AHS, College View Middle School, and Audubon, Burns, Sorgho and Southern Oaks Elementary Schools, as well as throughout the Owensboro community.
“DanceBlue would not be as big as it is and as impactful as it is without the support of Owensboro and the community that we have here at Apollo,” said Caroline Shutt, public relations chair. “It’s grown so much in the past few years and it’s amazing to see.”
The evening will culminate with a “Celebration of Life Hour” which the participants say is by far “our favorite and most meaningful” part of the evening.
One of the highlights of Celebration of Life Hour this year is guest speaker and cancer survivor, 21-year-old Apollo Alumna, Cassidy Skaggs who is currently celebrating six months cancer-free. Apollo Alumni and UK DanceBlue Chair Tyler Ward will also be in attendance as the evening winds down to the big reveal of the total amount of money raised.
