Annabel and Phoebe Condon are raising money for Nicklaus Children’s Hospital via the Feb. 20 Dance Marathon at Saint Andrew’s School, where they are students. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Brian Biggane
A movement that began as a tribute to a friend at Indiana University 25 years ago has found its way to Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, and a pair of teenage sisters from Gulf Stream have learned some important life lessons as a result.
Phoebe Condon, a senior at Saint Andrew’s, and her sister Annabel, a freshman, are among the dozens of students at the school raising money in a program called Dance Marathon. The sisters previously attended Gulf Stream School.
Dance Marathon is designed to help the Children’s Miracle Network in general and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami in particular.
“As an adviser, it is a pleasure to witness the development of student leaders, and Phoebe is an exceptional example,” said Victoria Zingarelli, a history teacher who oversees the club. “She has set a wonderful example not only for her younger sister but for many underclassmen in our program.”
Dance Marathon began at Indiana University in 1991 as a memorial. Students committed to dancing 24 hours or more as a means of raising money and collected $10,900 that first year. It has continued to this day and last November raised $3.4 million, with total contributions now approaching $60 million.
Zingarelli was a student at the University of Florida in 1995 when students introduced the program there. And she was teaching at Saint Andrew’s in 2017 when she overheard students discussing the possibility of bringing it there. She volunteered to help and soon Dance Marathon had a new home.
Phoebe Condon joined the group her freshman year in 2022, but said her interest and involvement increased significantly after she and her classmates made a trip to the Nicklaus hospital two years later and got a firsthand look at what their fundraising was helping to accomplish.
“That lets you know what you’re doing and who you’re supporting,” she said. “It was very emotional.”
One stop was a wing where children were undergoing open-heart surgery. The students looked through a window and saw one baby whose chest hadn’t been closed as doctors waited to determine if more had to be done.
“It was probably the saddest thing I’ve ever seen,” Phoebe said.
“Then I went again this year and saw a lot more people my age. I just love children so much and seeing that in person was very eye-opening. That’s the best thing about Dance Marathon: They make sure everyone knows what it is they’re donating to. And I like to spread that to other people.”
One of the people she’s motivated to get involved is Annabel, who also took part in the hospital visit in December.
“Meeting the children and hearing their stories has really pushed me to go above and beyond,” Annabel said.
Phoebe said she typically raised from $500 to $700 by herself in past years, so she felt ambitious in setting a goal of $1,000 this year.
“Then one really generous donor, a good family friend, donated $1,000 and I was able to raise another $2,000 from other people. Hitting that milestone was really shocking to me because I realized I spread a lot of awareness, and I believe people donated more because they really knew about the cause.”
Zingarelli said the $14,000 students raised the first year of the program has climbed to more than $30,000 the past couple of years, for a total of $200,000. The goal this year is $40,000 and the drive culminates Feb. 20 with its main event.
The Saint Andrew’s event is a scaled-down version of the one in Indiana, lasting only four hours with four musical genres.
“I’ll dance a lot but some of the time I’ll just stand around,” Phoebe said.
Phoebe has taken on greater responsibility during her time in the program — as a junior becoming lower and middle school captain to spread the word to younger children and this year moving up to vice president. “And now Annabel has become one of the captains as well,” Zingarelli said.
Now going through the process of deciding on a college — Wake Forest, which older sister Lily attends, is one option — Phoebe plans to work toward a degree as a therapist, and this experience has underscored that goal.
“It’s definitely made me want to work in the medical field, but more with post-traumatic events, like cancer. I want to work directly with children, so this club has definitely furthered my passion for psychology.”
To make a tax-deductible donation to the cause, visit events.dancemarathon.com/teams/75330.
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