Hi! I’m Grace - the Executive Director for OttoTHON 2024. I have been involved in OttoTHON since the first semester of my first year at Syracuse, and I can honestly say that it has been the highlight of my college experience thus far. I am thrilled to lead OttoTHON into another year of fundraising and philanthropy for Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital.

At the beginning of this year, we devised key goals for OttoTHON 2024. They include:

• Continue to build relationships with student-led service organizations, Greek Life chapters, and local Syracuse-owned businesses.

• Create new ways to raise awareness about what an in-person dance marathon is really about!

• Create new ways to engage our miracle families and Upstate Golisano throughout the year.

• Improve the overall engagement and participant experience at our 12-hour dance marathon event in the spring.

I have been lucky enough to experience the OttoTHONs I have been at Syracuse for all in-person, which wasn’t possible at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we are back in person, the pandemic has significantly changed Dance Marathon culture nationwide. Through this post-pandemic adjustment period, OttoTHON aims to remind our campus and local Syracuse community how vital this cause and movement is and why getting and staying involved is essential. Regardless of the state our world is in, there are kids in children’s hospitals everywhere who can’t wait to receive life-saving treatment. I want to do my part to ensure that these kids, who all deserve a childhood outside of a hospital room and unconditional support, can receive the best care possible.

I am so grateful to be able to use my time at college to make a slight difference in the local Syracuse community. Just one dollar can make such a huge impact - whether it goes towards dinner for a family staying at the hospital, toys for a child, or payment for a hospital bed. At OttoTHON, we frequently discuss our “why” for participation and why we decided to join this movement. I have multiple “whys,” but at the end of the day, my why is so that no family or child ever feels they are walking the terrifying path of pediatric illness alone. I want every child and family seeking treatment at Upstate Golisano to be able to look out their window onto SU’s main campus, right across the street from their hospital room, and know that there is a group of loving and dedicated students who are tirelessly working every day to ensure they are not alone on the path they have found themselves on. Every member of this movement is essential. 

We all want to show how incredible OttoTHON, Dance Marathon, and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals are to students at Syracuse University. I hope you will join me and the rest of the OttoTHON team throughout the year (especially during our big event on March 23rd!) to change the future. I’ll be waiting for you on the dance floor.

Kids Can’t Wait,

Grace Brashears

P.S. If you’re worried about signing up, remember that even bad dancing saves lives! Be a part of this generation fighting for the next.