University of Maryland’s Dining Services partnered with Terp Thon on Thursday to feature the stories and favorite foods of current and past Children’s National Hospital patients and their families.
The Miracle Kid Dining event, which took place in the South Campus Dining Hall, aimed to promote student involvement in Terp Thon — a student organization that raises funds and awareness for Children’s National Hospital — and deepen students’ connections with the patients.
“It’s just really to bring awareness to why it’s so important to raise money for pediatric illness, but also to bring cause connection to our campus and just highlight our club on campus,” Terp Thon’s engagement director Nick Bentley said.
The four children featured were two pairs of sisters, who had their own unique favorite foods featured in the dining hall, said Bentley, a junior early childhood special education major.
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Terp Thon also tabled inside the dining hall throughout the day to supply students with information about the organization and answer questions.
During lunch and dinner, the dining hall served the favorites of Mariana, Gabriela, Brooke and Caitlin, including lasagna, macaroni and cheese, pepperoni pizza and chocolate chip cookies, according to Dining Services spokesperson Bart Hipple. The dining hall also displayed short blurbs about the childrens’ health journeys.
Brooke was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia when she was two years old and needed a bone marrow transplant, according to Terp Thon’s website. Her older sister, Caitlin, was a perfect match and stepped up to save her sister’s life, the website said.
Tahmari Lewis, Terp Thon’s university relations chair, said she hoped the event helped students connect with the patients behind the organization’s fundraising efforts and get involved themselves.
“I would love for people to just be able to look into them and be able to just enjoy a part of themselves, which is the food that they like,” Lewis, a sophomore sociology major, said.
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The specific food selections highlighted how young the Miracle Kids are and made the event feel more personal, Hipple said.
“Everybody … will recognize that they really are favorite foods of smaller kids,” Hipple said. “The kids become more real.”
The event was the first of its kind between Dining Services and Terp Thon, according to Hipple, who hopes to continue partnerships like this one.
Terp Thon has raised thousands of dollars in their past events, including its annual eight-hour Miracle Network Dance Marathon. The next dance marathon will take place on March 8.
Bentley said he hopes Thursday’s event and others throughout the semester will elevate student involvement in the dance marathon and other fundraising events.
“It’s a great way for us to get our name out there while also bringing something so special to everyone else in our campus community,” Bentley said.
