Chicagoland

Students at Regina Dominican dance for Syrian children

By Michelle Martin | Staff writer
Sunday, March 26, 2017

Students at Regina Dominican dance for Syrian children

A gym full of Zumba-dancing teenagers might not seem like it has much to do with the plight of Syrians suffering the effects of six years of civil war, but at this year’s Regina Dominican Dance Marathon, all that stepping and sweating was for a cause. The March 3, 2017 event, hosted by the Regina Dominican National Honor Society, raised about $3,100 for the Lake Forest-based Karam Foundation, which raises money both to assist Syrian refugees and to provide humanitarian aid to people in Syria, according to Janey Joiner, the National Honor Society moderator for the Wilmette girls’ school.
Students at Regina Dominican held a dance Marathon to benefit the Karem Foundation on March 3. A speaker from this foundation addressed our school community as part of the Leadership Institute earlier this year. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Nina Menon has henna patterns painted on her arm during the event. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Miranda Radtke (front), Elizabeth Hancuch (left), Vivian O'Bryan (back), Ann Schultz (right) practice their dance moves on March 3. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Meghan McCabe (middle) and Stephanie Zalinski (left) take part in a group dance. Students at Regina Dominican held a dance Marathon to benefit the Karem Foundation on March 3. A speaker from this foundation addressed our school community as part of the Leadership Institute earlier this year. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Instructor Diane Garvey demonstrates dance steps for Amanda Zachar (right) and Meghan McCabe (middle) on March 3. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

A gym full of Zumba-dancing teenagers might not seem like it has much to do with the plight of Syrians suffering the effects of six years of civil war, but at this year’s Regina Dominican Dance Marathon, all that stepping and sweating was for a cause.

The March 3 event, hosted by the Regina Dominican National Honor Society, raised about $3,100 for the Lake Forest-based Karam Foundation, which raises money both to assist Syrian refugees and to provide humanitarian aid to people in Syria, according to Janey Joiner, the National Honor Society moderator for the Wilmette girls’ school.

“Thinking about possible organizations to support with Dance Marathon, the Karam Foundation was the first to pop into my head,’ Regina Dominican junior Gillian King wrote in an email. “Earlier this year, a speaker from the foundation came to speak to our school about the current situation of Syrian refugees -- namely families with young children.”

King was the first students to propose donating the proceeds of Dance Marathon to the Karam Foundation, and she was one of the students who worked with the foundation to bring the event together.

King said she was impressed with the work the foundation does to help provide children with proper education. The Karam Foundation has partnered with non-governmental organizations to rebuild schools in Syria that were bombed, provided bus transportation to school for Syrian refugee children in Turkey and provided stipends to Syrian refugee families on the condition that their children are enrolled in school.

“It was very eye-opening, and I chose to write an article about the foundation's work for Regina's newspaper,” King said. “The speaker really struck a chord with me, and reminded me of the necessity of not existing merely to benefit oneself, but to help a world very different than my own. It is a place for kids such as me to learn about other cultures, and the necessity of unity and solidarity.”

While the event itself featured different genres of music for the Regina Dominican students and their guests throughout the evening, NHS members used various means to remind them that they were dancing for a cause.

A henna artist was available to decorate students’ hands, Joiner said. The use of henna is a Middle Eastern tradition, with written evidence of henna being used as a personal adornment in what is now northwest Syria as far back as 2100 B.C.

The event also included a table with information about the Karam Foundation, and a sign asked students, “Why do you dance?”

Written answers, strung together in a “chain of hope,’ included “I dance to give back" and "I dance to support charity."

Emily Miller, a member of NHS, said there were also arts and crafts that helped spread the message, which was an ongoing effort.

“We raise awareness and publicize the event in the upcoming weeks before the marathon,” she said.

King said Regina Dominican inculcates a sense of global awareness and responsibility in its students.

“I believe it is my role as a high school student to participate in any way I can to further the betterment of the worldwide society,’ she said. “Regina Dominican has instilled in me the ability to see the world through a multitude of perspectives. Furthermore, I believe that the Karam Foundation gives all those involved a chance to discover the similarities that exist across ethnicities, countries, religious affiliations and the globe.”

Topics:

  • regina dominican high school
  • syria
  • dance
  • karam foundation
  • wilmette

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