Lakewood Ranch High Mustangs dance for Shriners

With a sparse crowd early in the first Mustangs for Kids Dance Marathon, club president Alyssa Morford was a bit concerned.

"We've raised more than $3,000 with our sponsors and our goal is $5,000," she said Jan. 27 in the cafeteria at Lakewood Ranch High School.

The final tally, though, left her wanting to dance even more.

The five-hour event surpassed their goal, with the final tally at $6,082.71 that will go to Shriners Hospitals for Children.

"We didn't have a ton of people, but for us, it's exciting to know how much this can grow."

Morford was asked by Lakewood Ranch graduate Quentin Waid, now a student at the University of South Florida, to start a Mustangs for Kids club. Waid is a member of Bulls for Kids at USF, which tries to affiliate itself with other clubs that will raise money for Shriners.

Bulls for Kids had members, such as Waid and Bryan Stark, help the Mustangs with their first dance marathon. The money raised by the Lakewood Ranch club would be presented to Shriners through Bulls for Kids.

Waid was impressed by the effort put forth by the Mustangs.

"This is an amazing group of kids doing amazing things for Shriners," he said.

Although it was a dance marathon, participating students weren't required to dance for all five hours. But nobody could sit down.

"We dance for those who can't," Morford said.

A special dance was introduced every hour and other games and activities were available other than dancing. Students could try their luck at getting out of an escape room and, for a fee, they could lock up their friends in a temporary jail.