Our History
Thanks to the generous support of all of our amazing donors and sponsors, we have raised $2,250,593.13 over our 16 year history for our local Children’s Hospital.
2008 - $13,500
In our founding year, we were created to provide support for the MU Children's Hospital and pediatric patients of mid-Missouri. Originally called MU Dance Marathon, we worked year-round to provide MU students with the opportunity to live FTK.
2009 - $19,498
We built off the momentum of our first year, and continued to spread the FTK spirit around campus. At the time, our official color was blue, and it was starting to make its way all over campus.
2010
We transitioned from a fall event to a spring event.
Bryce at a 2010 family event.
2011 - $56,928
In 2011, we broke $50,000, but our emotional support for our Miracle Kids was only growing stronger.
2012 - $76,724.24
In 2012, we held our first 5K. This successful event brought students and community members together.
2013 - $152,402.44
The Zero Zeroes campaign was launched in 2013 with the goal of having all members raise at least $1. We also rebranded from MU Dance Marathon to Mizzou Dance Marathon in this year.
2014 - $176,290.55
After six years of successful outreach and fundraising we were able to implement a minimum fundraising requirement. An exciting new chapter was approaching as the 2014 Main Event marked the last time we would be branded as Mizzou Dance Marathon.
Tommy Veltrop at the 2013 Holiday Party.
2015 - $201,322.68
In an effort to show the full scope of what our organization does, we transitioned Mizzou Dance Marathon to MizzouThon in Spring 2014. This change is believed to reflect the true meaning of our cause, and show our support for year-long efforts for the right to be a kid. We also transitioned our colors from blue to black and gold, the official colors of MU. Using the university colors shows others that campus involvement, spirit, and MU traditions are important to the movement. During this time we also signed our $1 million pledge to the MU Children's Hospital's NICU.
2016 - $276,641.11
In 2016, we officially became the largest student-run philanthropy at Mizzou. We also surpassed 1,000 registered members.
2017 - $304,604.63
Our motto of "every child has the right to be a kid" was a recognizable phrase around campus as the movement continued to grow. We held our very first push day and raised over $24,000 in one day. Our Mini MizzouThon program also raised $17,000.
2018 - $307,543.80
2018 marked our 10 year anniversary. To honor those who helped lay the foundation of our movement, we launched the “10 years and still…” campaign which highlighted our rich history and progress. We also completed our $1 million pledge to the MizzouThon NICU an entire year early.
2019 - $290,561.16
Coming off of completing our $1 million pledge, 2019 showed signs of new beginnings when we signed a pledge to donate $1.3 million in 5 years. Continuing to support the MizzouThon NICU, as well as the entire salary of the Music Therapist.
2020 - $162,596.76
2020 was off to a great start for MizzouThon before the COVID-19 pandemic forced many changes to the spring semester, which included cancelling our Main Event. Regardless, we were able to come together and raise awareness and funds for our local hospital.
2021 - $71,116.86
The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic continued, forcing us to shift most of our events, including Main Event, to virtual platforms. Even though this year brought unique challenges, our MizzouThon family came together and were still able to raise more money for the NICU and Music Therapy.
2022 - $121,140.94
Our first in-person Main Event since 2019! We masked up and made it happen. We were so happy to see so many old and new faces all together. We also signed a pledge to donate $1.25 million dollars over 5 years for the NICU and music therapy programs at the new MU Health Care Children’s Hospital facility that will be located on Mizzou’s campus making MizzouThon the first organization to donate to the new hospital.
2023 - $122,054.31
After our comeback in 2022, we hit the ground running in 2023 to make our presence known again on campus. We overhauled our Child Health Day fundraising with a large on-campus display to raise over $11k in one day, introduced a new student event named Mission MizzouThon, and brought back our Mini MizzouThon program at Rockbridge High School.
2024 - $131,960.64
Our motto of Main Event 2024 was “Celebrate the Future” which we used to represent our fundraising efforts throughout the year. Not only did we raise over $11k on Child Health Day alone, but we continued our Mini MizzouThon program with Rockbridge High School in which they raised $20,154.77.