By Evan Williams, MUN Impact Press and John Burroughs student
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On February 9th, the students of John Burroughs School in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA convened in their community’s field house for an evening of celebration dubbed “Dance Marathon.” The biennial event, often viewed as a means to let loose by the students, is underscored by a philanthropic goal. This year though, the dancefloor had a distinctive feel, as the student body was supporting Hope for Education and Leadership in Afghanistan (HELA), an organization with which Burroughs has a storied history. The delegates of the John Burroughs MUN team have met with the HELA delegates on several occasions and have developed somewhat of a rapport. This is the heart and soul of Dance Marathon, assisting in efforts to lift people up. William Bartnett, a current senior at John Burroughs, and a press member of the MUN team had this to say of the event: “I’m pleased we were able to rally the community around giving so much support to an organization that is doing amazing work in a part of the world that desperately needs it.”
HELA is a group effecting visible change, and Jakes Steinkamp, also a current senior at John Burroughs, and one of the members of the Dance Marathon planning committee noted that he thinks their effectiveness is one of the reasons this year’s turnout was unusually large, saying, “Having the money go to HELA encouraged 
not only the students, but also local businesses to donate. People are more inclined to give when the change is something they can see.”
In total, the event raised $23,187, half of which has been sent to HELA to support their growing ambitions. HELA is currently gearing up for their own international MUN conference in Afghanistan in an attempt to draw the focus of young world leaders to the Middle-East and spark a discourse in their backyard.
The spirit of Dance Marathon, according to Bartnett, is “generosity,” just as it is the spirit of HELA. Giving back to one’s community is central to the idea of MUN. This event is not only an exercise in humanity, but an indicator of global kinship, and has left an impact on the communities involved.