President Barack Obama sent a video message to NUDM to support the students dancing for 30 hours to raise funds and awareness in the fight against Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
"Hey Northwestern, I'm here to help you kick off Dance Marathon on its 40th anniversary. Your hard work has made this one of the biggest student-run philanthropies in America. Chicago is proud of you, and I'm proud of you," he said.
DM leaders solicited the video by contacting the office of Cody Keenan (WCAS '02), the president’s top speechwriter. Keenan emailed DM officers on March 4 with the message, “POTUS is on board,” to confirm that the video had been scheduled. It was filmed last night.
This is the second time Obama has sent a video to support NUDM, but the first since taking the nation’s highest office. His prior video had aired at NUDM 2007, less than a month after then-Senator Obama had declared his candidacy for president.
"But most importantly, your energy and enthusiasm is going to do a lot of good for a lot of people. So, thank you for making a difference to the life of your community, and your country. And now, after months of effort, here’s the fun part. Get dancing, good luck, and Go ‘Cats!”