UCF’s Office of Student Involvement announced Saturday morning the main event hosted by Knight-Thon at UCF will be canceled.
The cancellation comes after news of universities nationwide moving to remote instruction — including UCF — due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019.
“Although we are saddened that our main event has been cancelled, the impact we have made so far this year has been incredible … We are grateful for your continued support, and the work does not stop today,” Knight-Thon’s Executive Director Zaineb Saied wrote in a Saturday statement.
The event was originally scheduled to be held on March 28 and March 29 in Addition Financial Arena at UCF’s main campus.
Knight-Thon is a part of the national Miracle Network Dance Marathon movement, according to the OSI website.
Last year, Knight-Thon collectively raised just under $1.3 million to help sick and injured children in Orlando, according to its website.
Knight-Thon is UCF’s largest student-driven philanthropy, according to OSI’s website. The event raises money for Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children — a Children’s Miracle Network hospital.
UCF interim President Thad Seymour Jr. said in a Friday statement the university will be practicing social distancing.
“We are taking these unprecedented steps because of the immediate need for social distancing, which is critical in preventing the spread of COVID-19 among our campus community and our families,” Seymour Jr. said. “That means avoiding mass gatherings and settings with large numbers of people and maintaining distance from others when possible.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends putting distance between yourself and other people if COVID-19 is spreading in your community, according to its website.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
