How to Get Involved with raiseRED

When I reflect on my 3.5 years at UofL, so many amazing memories come to mind. However, few compare to my experiences with raiseRED. If you haven’t heard, raiseRED is a fundraising organization that benefits Norton Children’s Cancer Institute and The University of Louisville Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology. In the past 7 years we have raised over 3 million dollars, benefitting both research and patient needs.

There are so many opportunities for you to get involved with raiseRED!

As a Student

As a student, you have an incredible opportunity to impact raiseRED. We have always been, and always will be a student-run organization. First and foremost, you can register to be a Dancer! As a dancer, you are able to participate in our 18-hour dance marathon, meet new friends, connect with our patients, and support the largest philanthropy on campus by fundraising $200! If you’d like to register to be a dancer, please click here. Once you register, you will receive information on how to participate, as well as a fundraising support group where fellow dancers and two Morale Captains will help you!

Additionally, you are able to apply to be a member of our Cardinal Crew program! Cardinal Crew is a mentoring and support program where college students are paired with one of our patients. We do various events throughout the year, such as UofL basketball games, Kid Prom, Rocket Launch, a Fall Festival, and more. Mentors and Cardinal Kids are able to meet outside of the larger events that we hold. For example, some mentors have tutored their Cardinal Kid in math, taught them the piano, gone to parks, and more. We serve over 40 families with kids that range from ages 5-22. During the marathon, our families come and interact with mentors, join us in our line dance, participate in a “Kid Talent Show”, and dance with us. We work to support the families in whatever way we can and make sure that we give our Cardinal buddies an experience where they can forget about hospital visits, treatment, and “can be a kid again”. Applications for Cardinal Crew will be open to every UofL student - you do not have to be registered to dance to apply.

Finally, I encourage you to apply for Leadership positions in 2021! There are 3 branches of leadership - Executive Board, Committee, and Service Ambassadors.

The Executive Board plans and oversees the operations of raiseRED. There are twenty-two members on the Executive Board, spread across three Director positions and fifteen Coordinator positions. The Directors each lead a smaller group of Coordinators organized by position responsibilities. Click here to learn more about the Executive Board and its current members.

Committee is composed of three roles with different responsibilities: Team Leader, Morale Captain, and Student Outreach Coordinator. Team Leaders play a vital role in raiseRED - they serve as leaders for their teams and are responsible for motivating, engaging, and organizing student dancers. Morale Captains encourage dancers by showing enthusiasm and passion, especially during the marathon itself. Finally, Student Outreach Coordinators are liaisons between other student groups and raiseRED. They communicate with their student group to drive participation and involvement. This year, raiseRED implemented a quick-start fundraising initiative to support dancers’ fundraising efforts in the first week after registering. Committee members are responsible for helping their dancers complete the program and raise their first $100.

Finally, we introduced a new branch of raiseRED this year - Service Ambassadors. Service Ambassadors will work closely with members of the executive board and clinic personnel to serve patients and Cardinal Crew kids. They will perform mentor check-ups for the cardinal crew program, help with college and professional prep for clinics, volunteer in the inpatient clinic, and more individualized services for our families. These individuals are not required to fundraise.

All leadership applications will open after the 2021 Marathon - follow our social media accounts for a more specific timeline.

As an Alumni

If you have been a Dancer in the past, you are still able to remain engaged with raiseRED! We would love to work with you. Our Alumni Council was founded in 2019, and has already made such an impact on raiseRED. They have completed fundraisers, provided mentorship to our executive board, and offered countless amazing ideas. If you’d like to get involved, please email alumni.raisered@gmail.com

As a Community Member

The Louisville Community has been instrumental to our success. We cannot thank them enough for how supportive, giving, and kind they have been! If you are a community member who would like to get involved, there are so many opportunities for you. We are always looking for community partnerships, sponsorships and donations to support our efforts. If you would like to learn more or offer your support, please email operations.raiseRED@gmail.com.

Every day I am so thankful that I chose to be involved with raiseRED in 2017. Please reach out with any questions, I am happy to help you!

Nico Thom - operations.raiseRED@gmail.com