Last Saturday there was a party. Not the typical party on a college campus and not in the typical place. There was music, games and food, but the intention of the party was different. This was FTK. For The Kids. 

The red and pink decor filled Cafe Nova. Paper flowers, Valentine’s Day cards and bags covered the tables waiting to be decorated. The party was filled with the NOVAdance committee, Sidekicks and their heroes. The heroes are the children fighting pediatric cancer that the committee directly serves in the local community. Villanova sponsors seven heroes ranging from the ages of six to 14. 

NOVADance is a year-long fundraising event that culminates into a 12-hour dance marathon on April 9. The money goes toward family assistance, research and advocacy through the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation. 

“The B+ Foundation was started by the family of Andrew McDonough, a boy who was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 14,” sophomore committee member Abby Koeller said. He fought his battle for 167 days before he passed. His blood type was B+ and that’s where the name the B+ Foundation came from. His family created this foundation to provide emotional and financial support to other families dealing with the same struggles of having a child with cancer.” 

NOVAdance is one of several annual events around college campuses that donate money to the B+ Foundation. The event was started three years ago as an initiative between Sigma Nu fraternity and Delta Delta Delta sorority. The first dance marathon was held in the spring of 2014 and raised $68,000. In its third year the committee hopes to make the event even more prominent on campus. 

The committee has implemented a new dancer program to raise involvement in the event. 

“With the dancer program anyone can get involved with any campus organization,” Koeller said. “If you aren’t in a campus organization you can be apart of the dancer team which are individual dancers. You can fundraise and are able to be there for the whole day of the event.”

Other events, such as the Silent Disco on Feb. 12 in Jake Nevin Field house from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. and a table selling Chick-Fil-A in Bartley every Wednesday during lunch time, are also ways the committee is spreading awareness about the event. 

Although the committee has been fundraising all year for the event, there are still some common misconceptions about it.

“The most important thing [for people to know] is that dancing is not required,” freshman Sidekick Nicole Reingold said. “I have heard of a lot of people that are scared to sign up because they think they have to be expert dancers. That is just not true. At the event we are going to have games, people running booths and playing video clips. It is just that you have to stay on your feet you don’t have to necessarily dance [the whole time]. I think if people know that they will be more likely to sign up.”

Reingold, along with several other freshman, is a Sidekick for the event. The Sidekicks help fundraise for the event and participate in all of the parties and activities for the heroes. Similar to her peers, Reingold joined the organization because of a personal connection with the message. 

“It has a personal message for me,” Reingold said. “My cousin passed away from pediatric cancer. It has directly affected my family and I see it through my aunts and uncles. I don’t think anyone else should have to go through that.” 

Cancer has affected most people’s lives. The disease is so widespread that it is virtually impossible to not know what it is and the effects it can have on families. The personal connection the event provided by connecting faces with the cause increases the motivation to fundraise. 

“I think with any organization it isn’t going to be as effective as you want it to be unless you have a personal connection and you know where all your efforts are going,” Koeller said. “It gives you motivation to help. [With NOVA Dance] you get to see what you are working for.”

One of the slogans for the B+ Foundation is “B+ it’s not a grade. It’s an attitude.” This is one of the most important messages of the foundation. NOVAdance has adopted this slogan and added onto it with the acronym FTK. For the kids. The event. The money. The parties. Everything is FTK. 

One of the slogans for the B+ Foundation is “B+ it’s not a grade. It’s an attitude.” This is one of the most important messages of the foundation. NOVAdance has adopted this slogan and added onto it with the acronym FTK. For the kids. The event. The money. The parties. Everything is FTK.