"It's not a grade, it's an attitude," reads the back of many a DM committee member hood.
"Be Positive," the namesake for this year's DM primary beneficiary, The B+ Foundation, comes from the story of Andrew McDonough, a 14-year-old athlete from Wilmington, Del. After a cardiac arrest in 2007, McDonough found out that he was diagnosed with Leukemia. Going against odds, McDonough fought for 167 more days and passed on July 14, 2007.
McDonough's blood type was B+, but the Foundation's motto, "Be Positive," is based on his courageous fight against cancer.
Founded by McDonough's father, Joe, The B+ Foundation has three main goals: to provide financial support for families dealing with childhood cancer, contribute to funding for cancer research and spreading awareness about childhood cancer to inspire others to "Live Like Andrew."
"We make sure to look at the immediate effects of families that are struggling with cancer," says Eamon O'Neil, the Midwestern regional director of the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation. "We do that by helping families that are struggling to pay bills or they have some cost that they can't cover because they have a sick child and also keeping an eye on the future and funding treatments." O'Neil says that the Foundation, unlike other organizations, is unique in that it focuses on both aspects of support.
"There are statistics thrown around about childhood cancer having a 75 percent survival rate," O'Neil says. "When you hear that, my first reaction is that that's pretty good, but those statistics are slightly skewed because the treatments that kids would have to take leaves some of them with lifelong debilitating side effects. So, that 75 percent survival rate is not necessarily accurate."
O'Neil also notes the discrepancy between the perceived and actual amount of funding that national cancer institutes receive. "Only four percent goes to funding new research and treatments from childhood cancer," he says. "I think the next step in the process is informing more people about the funding gaps and inefficiencies specifically related to childhood cancer."
The Midwestern sector of The B+ Foundation was founded just last year in coordination with the Foundation's partnership with DM. "One, just financially, the amount of fundraising that comes along with the event is great," O'Neil says. "Two, it also has a big presence in the Evanston and Chicago and surrounding community in terms of helping more people find out about who we are and what we do."
O'Neil says the money raised will be split between supporting cancer research and helping families, especially those located in the Chicagoland region.
A Northwestern graduate from the class of 2010, O'Neil feels a strong tie to NUDM even though he has never personally danced in DM. "Having a chance to come back and seeing sort of the inner-workings of it, I'm very happy I got to have a DM experience even though I wasn't a student [now], I still feel like I'm making up for it this past year, and then some."