From its first event in 1999 under the name Midnight Marathon, HuskyTHON has been changing lives. Each year, one generation comes together to fight for the next, setting out to be bigger and better than the year before. The resilience of the UConn community has been challenged yet we have only come back stronger and with more passion. In 2021, when the pandemic impacted all in person events, HuskyTHON went outside in the first ever two-day event. In 2022, college students came together once again in the chilly outdoors to ensure that our Miracle Kids and their families would be able to once again experience the magic of HuskyTHON.

Returning to the field house for HuskyTHON 2023 brought back memories from all of the previous events that paved the way for the special year. From 13,878 miracles to 1.48 million, HuskyTHON has continued to be a place where all sickness, illness, and disease can be left at the door and kids can just be kids. A community comes together to celebrate common successes, embrace differences, and support one another in the face of adversity. 

All 3,900 UConn students have a Why; the reason they choose to participate in a year-long fundraiser for kids and families they have never met before. We dance for more holidays spent at home, for our future patients and students, and for more sunshine on cloudy days. We choose to fight for future generations because we dream of a world without childhood illness.

My late best friend serves as my inspiration everyday and she made it her goal to remind everyone to “live a beautiful life.” Not everyday will be perfect, but find the joy wherever you can; HuskyTHON brings together all walks of life to fight for change, and I cannot imagine a more beautiful thing. 

HuskyTHON 2024 is the 25th anniversary of the organization, and we look to honor the past while looking to the future. Despite changes in name, appearance, and size, the main goal of HuskyTHON has remained constant throughout the years and will continue to be at the heart of our organization. On behalf of our 31-person HuskyTHON Management Team and our Miracle Families, thank you for joining our movement to change kids’ health and change the future.

For More Miracles,

Mackenzie Lynch

Executive Director of HuskyTHON 2024