January Dancer of the Month

January’s Dancer of the Month is Annie Simmons!

Annie is on Hanna Hendricksen's morale team & also the media committee! She was nominated by both Carly Kinning and Dani Schultes, and then chosen by the leadership team.

Annie is a junior here at UNI and is a Leisure, Youth, and Human Services major, with a Nonprofit Emphasis. She is also pursuing a minor in Public Relations. Annie chose to be on the media committee because she knew she would be able to bring two of her favorite passions together: nonprofit work and calligraphy.

This is Annie’s second year being involved in Dance Marathon and when asked why she decided to join Dance Marathon she responded with, “I decided to join Dance Marathon to gain hands-on experience with a nonprofit while being more involved on campus.” This year, Annie’s amazing calligraphy talent has been brought to UNI Dance Marathon. The "thank you" and holiday cards being sold on campus were made by Annie herself!

Annie says that her favorite Dance Marathon memory would be attending the Big Event, where all of the hard work and fundraising she had completed came together. “Being able to see exactly how this student organization impacts each child and their families was so inspiring and helped me to make a bigger impact this year.”

Annie’s current goal is $1,570, which had to be raised since the beginning of the year when she reached her first goal. To meet this new goal Annie plans to donate the money raised from different calligraphy art pieces such as canvases, stickers, and more!

One fundraising tip Annie would like to give other dancers is to be creative! She says to use your passions and hobbies to show others why this organization is so meaningful to you, and why they should invest in Dance Marathon, as well. “When people see your passion and the hard work you are putting into Dance Marathon, they will want to know why you are so passionate about what you are doing and how they can help you.”

Thank you, Annie, for all that you do and will continue to do FTK!