OVERNIGHT SUCCESS: Last year’s event raised $150,000 as dancers bopped till they dropped. Courtesy Stanford Dance Marathon

That was Dr. Paul Farmer’s unspoken reaction to Stanford Dance Marathon’s fund-raising goal last year. The student group works with Stanford’s FACE AIDS organization to support pediatric HIV/AIDS clinics in Rwanda started by the Boston-based Partners in Health, which Farmer co-founded. His doubts proved groundless: the University’s biggest student-run philanthropic event—the 24-hour marathon—attracted nearly 1,000 participants and surpassed its goal, boosting total contributions over its three-year history to $260,000.

Courtesy Stanford Dance Marathon

During a recent campus visit, Farmer reported that in Rwinkwavu, marathon proceeds also helped fund house calls by local health workers, and projects that provide the whole community with food, clean water, education and employment.

This year’s marathon takes place February 16-17 at the Alumni Center. More than a physical endurance test, the event includes health exhibits, presentations by faculty and medical professionals, student performances and a family fair; it attracts participants from local schools and colleges as well as the Farm.

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