More than 1,300 students at the University of Mississippi participated in this year’s RebelTHON, raising a record $305,211.38 for Children’s of Mississippi hospital. The event, which is part of the national Dance Marathon program, surpassed its $300,000 fundraising goal.
RebelTHON has been held annually for 14 years and involves students dancing through the night to support pediatric patients. The funds raised this year will fully fund 12 infusion bays within the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s of Mississippi.
Jessica Voge, a junior studying secondary English education from Cincinnati and a childhood cancer survivor, emphasized her motivation to participate: “I am a childhood cancer survivor, and it’s very important to me to stay involved in children’s health care philanthropies to give back to a system that saved my life,” Voge said. “What the previous generations had done for me, that’s what I wish to do for the next.”
Maddie Grace Lightsey, a senior nursing student from Hattiesburg and president of RebelTHON for 2025-26, explained how personal experiences influenced her involvement: “We have fully funded 12 infusion bays within the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s of Mississippi,” she said. “My little brother was treated at Children’s of Mississippi and I wanted to give back for all they have done for me and my family.”
“RebelTHON has been a cornerstone of my college experience, and it was an honor to go out with a record-breaking year – raising over $300,000 for the first time in RebelTHON history,” Lightsey added.
The event features themed hours with costumes and games as part of its 12-hour marathon. Voge described one memorable moment: “I actually got to crowd surf dressed up as Guy Fieri during the rave theme/dance party hour,” she said. “That’s a sentence I’d never thought I’d say, and it’s only at RebelTHON that I would ever be able to do that.”
Voge learned about RebelTHON during her freshman orientation and immediately decided to join after learning about both RebelTHON and Hotty Toddy traditions at Ole Miss.
“To me, RebelTHON is that ‘everything in between,'” she said. “I’ve never felt more connected to the university, to the LOU community, to Mississippi in general than when I am at RebelTHON.”
She also noted how participating helped her feel part of Oxford despite not being from Mississippi: “As someone who is not from Mississippi or anywhere near Mississippi, RebelTHON is important as it helps build on the sense that Oxford is home,” Voge said.
“Knowing that I am serving the community—the generations after me—means more to me than anything else.”
