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Dance Marathon is an event where the school and the community can come together and make a difference. All of the proceeds raised will be donated to a deserving charity. This year's charity is Special Gifts Theater; a non-profit organization that allows children and teens with special needs to enjoy and participate in the fine arts as a tool for empowerment and team building . We also have a secondary beneficiary this year which is the Niles Township Foundation for Excellence, which provides calculators, AP testing fees, and things of that nature to students attending one of the Niles Township High Schools that do not have the means to pay for these things. Last year our charity was Refugee One; a non-profit organization that helps settle refugees coming from across the world in the Chicago Land Area, and we raised over $85,000! To help raise funds for the charity, each participant is asked to raise money and commit to 7 hours of dancing on May 26 , 2011.

Special Gifts Theatre (SGT) is a not-for-profit organization that was founded in 2000 to provide children and teens who possess a wide array of special needs (physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and learning) the opportunity to experience the joy and enrichment that theatre arts can bring. It was designed to motivate and honor the creative spirit in each individual. The program, though recreational in scope, is educationally and therapeutically based. This unique creative drama experience enables personal growth while breaking down stereotypes related to disabilities within the community at large.

Theatre arts provides an excellent opportunity for enhancing an individual's self-esteem and self-confidence; encouraging problem-solving abilities; strengthening listening, focusing, and attention skills; improving communication and fostering cooperation.

Their Mission is to provide children and teens with special needs, a unique, creative drama experience enabling personal growth while breaking down stereotypes related to disabilities within the community at large.

Their ultimate goal is to create specific opportunities for children and teens, with and without special needs, to work together. Mainstreaming is encouraged whenever students have developed the appropriate social and artistic skills necessary to succeed. Based on this premise, SGT’s goals include developing creative abilities, building friendships and providing disability awareness by breaking down stereotypes about disabilities.


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