Daily Deacon

Wake and Shake, Annabel Love

This year’s Wake and Shake raised over $302,000, which is a 50% increase in funds compared to last year. In 2015, Wake and Shake raised a total of $200,040 for the Brian Piccolo Cancer Fund, which supports cancer research at the WFU Cancer Center.

Wake and Shake is a 12-hour dance marathon held every spring at Wake Forest University. For 12 hours the Wake Forest community comes together with their dance moves and ask for donations to support all of those affected by cancer.

There were several factors contributing to the significant increase in funds raised. Michael Ford, the advisor of Wake and Shake, says it was so successful because “there was a diverse and high performing WnS Leadership Team (26 students total), a more robust marketing plan and better Pre-event fundraisers, and a new and improved website with individual dancer profiles that recorded how much money each person and team raised.”

Lydia Pappas, a co-chair says “this year we really worked on fixing the website to make it easier to donate and user friendly and make sure that there was a structured schedule with fun activities that people would enjoy.”

Throughout the event, there was food, games, prizes, live entertainment, and champion speakers that talked about their experiences with cancer. Mary Winston, a member of the Entertainment Committee, says “we planned everything in 5 minute intervals to keep up with the momentum and keep the energy high and positive.”

Stevie Eagan, a participant in Wake and Shake, said that her favorite part was “the final hour with the student testimonies, the glow stick remembrance of loved ones by all the dancers, and the final big circle song by Cold Play.”

Ellie Hamilton, a senior participant, noticed that this year the event ran “smoothly and efficiently and the new and improved website was incredibly user-friendly compared to previous years.”

Wake and Shake is a Wake Forest tradition that started in 2006 that brings together a diverse representation of students to share fun, pain, love, memories, and raise funds to help find a cure for cancer.

In the final words of Hamilton, “Wake and Shake is like Christmas and an event that I will definitely miss when I graduate.”