For the first time in three years, University of Louisville medical, dental and other students who ran the Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon or Marathon were able to present their race medals in person to their race buddies, children battling a critical illness. This year marks the 15th UofL Medals4Mettle event, which pairs the UofL students with children battling critical illness who are patients of Norton Children's Cancer Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine. The students presented medals they earned for running the 13.1-mile mini marathon or 26.2-mile marathon on April 30 to the kids at a socially distanced, outdoor party at the Health Sciences Center Courtyard. Seth Walsh, who is battling leukemia, received a Kentucky Derby Festival miniMartahon medal from med student David Means as part of Medals4Mettle This was the third time that fourth-year medical student David Means has run the KDF miniMarathon in honor of Seth Walsh, a 7-year-old battling leukemia.
This year s raiseRED dance marathon will look different than this, with mostly virtual events, but the goal is the same: to fight pediatric cancer.
raiseRed, UofL’s largest student-run philanthropic organization that raises money to fight pediatric cancer and blood disorders, will look stunningly different this year.
The COVID-19 pandemic has gutted the signature 18-hour dance marathon and its emotional, sweat-and-tear-filled fundraising reveal.
That’s not to say the show won’t go on, however. raiseRED has shifted its entire model to include a number of virtual components, and also some socially-distanced features at the SAC.
“Cancer doesn’t stop because of a pandemic. We still need to do what we can for these kids,” said senior Benjamin Gerdes, internal projects coordinator for the organization.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 1, 2021) The rivalry between the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville has been a staple of the athletics culture in Kentucky since its beginning. The two schools love to hate one another to the point that some fans won’t even wear the colors of the rival school.
However, there is one thing that both schools have in common: their dedication to bettering the state of Kentucky. That is what the Commonwealth Cup is all about.
Scheduled for Feb. 8-11, the Commonwealth Cup brings the dance marathons of both schools, the University of Kentucky’s DanceBlue and the University of Louisville’s raiseRED, together in an attempt to fundraise $50,000 collectively for the respective hospitals the dance marathons benefit. For DanceBlue, money raised will benefit the DanceBlue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Hematology/Oncology Clinic. For raiseRED, money raised will benefit the Norton Children’s Cancer Institute and the UofL Department of