Volume 2, Issue 5 December 2010

The mission of The UNC Dance Marathon is to unite the University, community and state in fostering emotional
and financial support that improves the quality of life for the patients, families and staff of N.C. Children’s Hospital.

Upcoming
"It always seems impossible
Events until it's done."
December 2: Tacky
Holiday Sprint
Come to Polk Place
–– Nelson Mandela
at 6 p.m. to show off
your tackiest holiday
gear and compete for
prizes. Cost: $10.
Battle of the Bands
December 3: Battle Three of Chapel Hill’s finest musicians bring the noise
as they face off for the opportunity to play at the 24-
of the Bands hour marathon. See Page 2 UNC-DM File
Help choose perform-
ers for the marathon
at The Library on
The Personal Touch January 2010
Franklin Street from Being a nurse on the 5th floor of N.C. Children’s Hos-
pital means building relationships with patients and
9:30 p.m. to 12:30
a.m. $5 under 21, $3 touching lives forever. See Page 3
How to survive UNC-DM 2011:
over.
Dance With Me Welcome 2011
dancers!!
UNC-DM swarmed campus during Dancer Recruitment
We’ve got 3 tips to get you
Week, as committee members enlisted 1,600 students
to pledge to dance at the marathon. through 24 hours on your feet:
In preparation See Page 3 1. Caffeine is 2. Don't sit down
for the 2010
World Cup, No Longer Lost in Translation your best friend,
as long as you don't
in the bathroom;
it makes it harder
South Africans With funding from a UNC-DM division grant, Spanish- overdose. Alternate when you come back
created the between coffee and up!
speaking patients and families at the hospital rely on
Cokes to keep things 3. Take advantage of the
“Diski” dance, a translator to communicate with doctors. interesting. calf massages.
influenced by See Page 5
the country’s
own style of
playing soccer, Presence in the Hospital For the Kids Story
or, in South Af- Benjamin is a 21-month-old boy who came
rica, football. We held a “Space Cowboys” social, with face paint-
ing, alien hand-puppets and fishing for prizes. Thurs- to UNC Hospitals for evaluation of failure-
“Diski” is slang
in South Africa day night pizza dinners are up and running, provid- to-thrive. His family’s income was ex-
for the game. ing families two free meals every week: Tuesdays tremely limited, and his step-father did not
Made up of five (through Parents’ Night out) and now Thursdays. have any paid leave. His mother received
unique South Dancers can volunteer to read, color or play Dance Work First for her children. When Benja-
African soccer Dance Revolution with kids in the General Pediatric min was successfully treated and ready for
moves, they say Clinic waiting room through Healthy Steps. discharge the family had no money for gas
it’s rhythmic
and playful, but Dancers can also shadow a doctor in the general for the trip home. The For the Kids Fund
never boring. clinic and can e-mail Gracie Beard at gbeard@email. provided gas money so the family could
unc.edu for more information. travel 133 miles to their home.
 2 December Newsletter
Local talent to battle for chance to per-
form at February marathon
Three artists will take the stage
on Friday, Dec. 3 for the kids. The
Screaming Crayons, Eric and the Di-
Marzios, and Blane Clark are com-
peting in The UNC Dance Marathon’s
Battle of the Bands for the chance to
perform at the marathon in February.
At the Battle, each band will play
for 30 minutes. After each band per-
forms, the audience will rank the band
from one to 10. A vote will count twice
with a donation of $1 to the marathon,
five times with a donation of $5, and
10 times with a donation of $10. The
votes will be averaged at the end of
the night and the winning artist will
be announced.
Justin Ellis, bassist of The Scream-
ing Crayons, performed last year at the
marathon with his a cappella group.
“The minute I walked on that stage,
I knew I wanted to play at it with my
band next year,” Ellis said.
The self-proclaimed “five-piece al-
ternative blues-based orchestral indie
rock” band from Raleigh has opened
for Cute Is What We Aim For and played
at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Olde Dirty Bash.
UNC-DM Entertainment Chair Alice
Miller helped organize the event and
urged all dancers to attend.
“We tried for a really good variety
of bands,” Miller said. “It is the one
Lazy Afternoon
Born 2 Step performed at the Lazy Af-
ternoon event along with UNC-CH student
musician Catie King and fellow step team
Phi Beta Sigma. Students gathered on
campus to learn more about UNC-DM and
how to get involved. Food and games also
kept attendees busy. Campus Fundraising
Chair Galen Cook said she hoped that stu-
dents would see the passion and excite-
ment involved with the UNC-DM cause. “I
want them to realize how much UNC-DM
has shaped our lives, and that it can do
the same for them,” she said.
Emily Tracy
chance that the dancers get to choose
their entertainment.”
Eric DiMarzio of Eric and The DiMar-
zios, a Chapel Hill-based bluegrass folk
rock band, said he learned about Bat-
tle of the Bands through the Facebook
event. Out of the seven bands who
responded to the Facebook event, the
Entertainment committee chose their
favorite three bands. Courtesy of the Screaming Crayons
The Battle will start at 9:30 p.m.
at The Library at 120 E. Franklin St.
A portion of the cover of $5 for 18- to
20-year -olds and $3 for 21 and older
will benefit UNC-DM, which will also
receive all of the voting donations.
The third performer, Blane Clark,
also a Chapel Hill resident, plays all
types of music with an emphasis on
rock.
Courtesy of Blane Clark
The winning band from last year,
Carolina Blues, will perform again at
the marathon in February.
Junior Alison Whisenant said she
still listens to the bands that played
when she danced at the marathon in
2009.
“The live music really added to the
marathon and was a breath of fresh
air,” Whisenant said.
Courtesy of Eric and the DiMarzios
Molly Sutherland
3 December Newsletter

nurse builds relationships with

kids who need it most
Of all the excellent services and
treatments N.C. Children’s Hospital
gives to families, arguably its best as-
set comes in human form: the dedi-
cated group of nurses working on each
floor day in and day out.
Ashley Fannin, a UNC-Chapel Hill
graduate who works on the hospital’s
fifth floor, is one such asset. She start-
ed out in biology and chemistry, but an
advisor convinced her to try nursing.
“I was not a fan at first,” she said,
“but the summer between my junior
and senior years I did an externship on
this floor and fell in love with it.”
Emily Evans
After graduation, Fannin was hired
to work full-time and has a little over
five years of experience under her
belt. “I fell in love with the kids and
thought, ‘I’m never going to work with
an adult again!’”
The fifth floor focuses on hematol-
ogy, oncology and pulmonary diseases,
so it typically has children diagnosed
with diseases like cancer, cystic fibro-
sis and sickle cell anemia, Fannin said.
Her medical duties are extremely
important, but forging relationships Emily Evans
with children and families is what Fan-
nin said she loves most about her job. Continued on Page 5

1,600 students pledge to dance during

Dancer Recruitment Week
A gorilla chasing a banana, a team of 24 tie-dye-wearing
students dancing in the Pit, and students yelling them-
selves hoarse were typical sights during The UNC Dance
Marathon’s Dancer Recruitment Week.
From Nov. 8 to Nov. 12, the Morale committee, with the
help of more than 300 other committee members, had the
daunting task of recruiting 1,600 dancers for the February
marathon. In addition to the joyful commotion in the Pit,
free food, lovable puppies and stylish new merchandise en-
ticed students to get involved and join the cause.
On Friday around 5 p.m. the week’s enthusiasm and ef-
forts paid off as UNC-DM reached the registration cap.
“Dancers can expect energy, excitement and enthusi-
asm at the marathon," said Overall Coordinator Sarah Beth
Wilkison. “They can expect immense appreciation from the
families who will visit us. This marathon will be better
than ever because, when they meet their kid co-captain for
the first time, they will understand exactly who they are
dancing for and what a difference it makes.”
Benefit dinners such as Sigma Soup for the Soul and the
Chi Psi/Chi O Barbecue, in addition to a dinner hosted by
the Newman Center, brought UNC-DM and other campus or-
ganizations together to support the cause.
Morale committee sub-chair Helen Williams said that
her favorite part of DRW was revealing the dance routine
and dorm storming, when the committee knocked on doors
throughout dorms on campus to talk to students individu-
ally. After mastering the four-minute dance during a mo-
rale committee retreat, the committee got to perform the
routine more than 20 times during the week.
Margot Pien
The personal connections through presence in the Pit
and dorm storming were the most effective, Wilkison said.
“It's crucial to use personal conversations to show stu-
dents that February 18 and 19, 2011 will not only be fun,
but will also make a tremendous impact on the patients
and families of N.C. Children's Hospital,” she said.
After spending many hours in the Pit and around campus
encouraging students to sign up, Wilkison had a rewarding
moment when she finally convinced a student to sign up for
the marathon.
“I couldn't stop smiling, knowing that one more person
will share this incredible experience with me,” she said.
For Williams, the most important reason to sign up to
dance is the cause.
“It benefits N.C. Children’s Hospital,” she said. “Ev-
eryone can relate to why it’s a great cause. Everyone can
come out and show what they stand for.”
Sophomore Solange La Puente decided to sign up to
dance after the encouragement of her friends. She is ex-
cited for, if not slightly wary of, the challenge of staying on
her feet for 24 hours, but said she believes the cause will
be rewarding.
“I like it because it’s for the children,” she said. “It’s
great doing it for a specific cause.”
Senior Tavia Benjamin also pledged to dance after hear-
ing about it around campus and with the urging of her
friends.
“I’ve heard this is a great time and it’s for a great
cause,” she said. “I’m a senior and I’m looking forward to
going out with a bang.”
DRW in Photos December Newsletter
Photography by
Spencer Bakalar
Michelle Kasprak
Molly Sutherland
5 December Newsletter

Nurse
Continued from
page 3
"It’s sad, but I like building that re-
lationship," she said, "and if people
are going to have to go through such
a terrible time, I like being one of the
people that helps them get through
that.”
Those relationships also make the
job emotionally taxing.
“As much as you try to keep up a
wall with every patient, it’s impossible
when you’re building these relation-
ships with families not to somewhat
get attached,” Fannin said.
For the long-term patients on the
5th floor, the nursing staff and the
other patients all become like a big
family.
“I think what’s really special about
our floor is that the families get to
know each other, and rely on each
other to get through a lot of the hard
times,” Fannin said.
Fannin said she once saw a little girl
help another remove her feeding tube.
“It was time for the tube to come
out and she was terrified. One of her
little buddies down the hall said, ‘Oh,
I had one of those, I’ll go help her,'"
Fannin said.
The girls were between 10 and 12,
but they talked through the process
and pulled the feeding tube out to-
gether.
"These kids understand more than
anyone what other kids are going
through," Fannin said.
The relationships between patients
and staff can last long after families
leave the hospital, Fannin said.
“I think it’s helpful to keep in touch
with the ones that do make it, be-
cause then you realize that there is a
positive to cancer,” she said.
Fannin’s typical workday starts at
7 a.m. and involves giving treatments
including chemotherapy, antibiotics
and pain medication. She also helps
educate families about their child’s
care.
“There’s not a lot of sitting around
that happens here,” Fannin said.
Fannin’s passion for her job is easy
to see. Her eyes light up when talking
about favorite children and families,
holiday activities and fellow nurses.
“I can’t imagine doing anything
else,” she said. “I look forward to
coming in and seeing the kids here.
They’re just as much therapy for us as
we are for them.
“You realize what’s important and
what’s not in life when you see what
these kids are going through,” she
said.

Grant Spolight: Hematology-Oncology

Spanish Interpreter
For many families, the thought of needing to have a
child treated at N.C. Children’s Hospital is hard enough.
For 20 percent of the families treated in the Division of
Pediatric Hematology–Oncology, there is an added burden
— they only speak Spanish.
The UNC Dance Marathon helped lighten this burden by
giving the division a grant that allows Walter Armstrong, a
Spanish interpreter, to be assigned full-time to the divi-
sion.
“We couldn’t see our patients without Walter,” said Dr.
Stuart Gold, head of the pediatric oncology and hematolo-
gy division. “If we didn’t have a full-time interpreter down
here, I think it would be very safe to say that it would be
very difficult to deliver care, next to impossible.
“I think finally, after all these years, we give the same
quality of care to our Hispanic families as we do to English-
speaking families,” he added.
Armstrong has been with the hospital for three years.
His salary comes entirely from the grant funded by UNC-
DM.
Victoria Cook
Before Armstrong, doctors had to call the hospital’s in-
terpreter service and wait for one respond when available.
“When you request a hospital interpreter, the problem is
that you have to wait for them,” Armstrong said. “Doctors
don’t have time to be waiting.”
In addition to closing the communication gap between
medical providers and Spanish-speaking families, Arm-
strong provides comfort and relief to families.
“He not only provides them with a voice that they can rely
on,” said Jessica Irven, senior recreational therapist,“but
he also provides them with family-centered care…as the
person that is going to speak for them and to them in a way
that they not only understand but can rely on.”
Having Armstrong assigned to the division allows the
families time to get close to him, which helps develop trust
and eliminates the fear of asking questions.
“He’s one of the best parts of the clinic,” staff nurse
Beth Jones said.

* If you have any questions, comments or concerns contact 2011

Publicity Chair Rebecca Brenner at rbrenner@email.unc.edu

Next Issue
Grant Spotlight: Healthy Steps
Moraler and Volunteer Profiles