Falcon Thon To Support Children, Families At Johns Hopkins

Thanks to Severna Park High School’s Key Club, students will dance the night away on May 3 to raise money for Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

Students Nora Devine and Samantha Lavallee are in the last stages of planning for the dance marathon fundraiser, called Falcon Thon. Severna Park High School attendees will enjoy raffle prizes, music courtesy of a DJ, free food, T-shirts, games, giveaways and endless dancing.

Samantha was once a pediatric cardiology patient at Johns Hopkins Children's Center. She heard about the dance marathon program through the Baltimore hospital when she had a cardiology checkup in 2022.

“I immediately fell in love with the idea of it because it was a fun, healthy activity that my classmates and I could do, which also benefited kids who were in the hospital,” Samantha said. “I felt that I needed to bring it to Severna Park High School the following year! Children's Miracle Network helps to fund surgeries, research, families' stays at the hospital, and child life programs too.”

The Key Club hopes to raise $10,000 through Falcon Thon. Samantha can relate to what some current patients are experiencing, and she knows the fundraiser can make a positive impact.

“As a baby and toddler, I spent many months in the hospital recovering from numerous open-heart surgeries and dealing with complications, among other things, but if you were to ask me what I best remember from my time in the hospital, none of those things would come to my mind first,” Samantha said. “In my mind, these were insignificant details. I remember going to the playroom, singing along to the entire ‘Mulan’ movie, going to Wednesday bingo, making fun snacks at a cool cooking class, and playing games with my family and the nurses, too. This experience for me was insanely positive, but I know that many kids do not have the wonderful experience that I did. However, through this program, that can change.”

Johns Hopkins Children’s Center cares for more than 100,000 patients and families each year, according to the center’s assistant director of development, Bethany Chance, who shared a letter praising the Falcon Thon fundraiser and the work done at Johns Hopkins.

“Thanks to the care of our wonderful doctors, staff and groundbreaking medical research, the Hopkins Children’s community extends across the world,” Chance wrote. “Some patients walk to our clinics; others travel from across the U.S. and distant countries for the world-class pediatric care for which we are renowned. With the support of the community, Hopkins Children’s will continue to fulfill our vision of a positive outcome for every child we treat.”

With Falcon Thon just over one week away, Nora and Samantha are already thinking about the fundraiser’s long-term potential.

“Through a dance marathon, we not only excite students, but we introduce them to an amazing cause that many of our students, like Samantha, have directly benefited from,” Nora said. “It is such a uniting experience and can help foster a sense of giving in all students that will carry on into the future. This is our first ever Falcon Thon, and we hope it will soon become an annual tradition!”

Anyone can donate by using this website. All donations are tax-deductible but must be made before Falcon Thon on May 3.