A New Chapter for WMCD
Our first twenty DanceAthon participants pose with Springfield Thunderbirds mascot, Boomer.
If you’ve been following WMCD (Western MA Charity DanceAthon) over the last few years, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve grown. Our mission, values, and commitment to empowering youth have remained the same, but the scope of our work has expanded.
When WMCD was founded in 2021, the goal was simple: we wanted to create an opportunity for youth to come together, have fun, and learn how important it is to give back to the community through an annual DanceAthon event. We wanted to help them make a difference.
The idea was inspired by SHMD, a dance marathon in New York, who provided guidance to our group of volunteers as we brought the vision to life. In February 2022, twenty high school students gathered for our first event, which raised $16,500 for Rick’s Place and KEVS Foundation.
Looking back, it’s hard to believe how much has happened since then.
We’ve had over 300 students attend our events. We’ve raised over $140,000 for local charities and organizations. We’ve developed a team of incredible volunteers, helped youth team members discover a passion for giving back, and built a community that brings together people of all ages around a common purpose.
Through all of this, we’ve learned that our mission was never really about a DanceAthon. It’s about the people. It’s about creating a safe space for local students to come together and become a part of something bigger than themselves.
And in doing so, we’ve been intentional about building something young people want. Early on, the feedback rolled in, and we chose to listen. They told us that dances weren’t really the thing that brought them back year after year. Instead, it was the energy. It was the friendships. The games, the check presentations to local charities, and the sense of belonging. It was the feeling of being a part of something that… actually matters.
Participants enjoy games at our 2024 event, the “Tropic Fever Charity All-Nighter.”
So, we looked at our options and decided to evolve… because at the end of the day, our mission matters more than any one event. Over time, our “DanceAthon” became an “All-Nighter” to reflect a more inclusive event for students with different interests and better describe the 25 hours of fun that our event had become. We expanded our relationships with the charities we support, we visited schools to share information about our organization, our events, and how to get involved.
That evolution sparked strategic conversations about what the future looks like - creating questions about the organization’s name and our logo. The more we talked about it, the more we realized the conversation wasn't really about our name. It was about whether our overall identity reflected who we had become as an organization. So, over the last year, we’ve spent a lot of time listening and having thoughtful conversations. We talked with our volunteers, board members, alumni, and youth team. We surveyed middle and high school students across Western Massachusetts to see what kind of organization they want to be a part of.
Those conversations led to the conclusion that we needed to rebrand the organization to better reflect what we have become - and more importantly what our local youth want to be a part of.
Based on that work, we are now transitioning to a new name that better reflects our identity and what this organization has always been about. WMCD has become “Youth for Change”.
That's what we've seen from the beginning: youth creating change. Young people stepping up for their community and proving that being young doesn't stop them from making the world a better place.
As we update our branding, our mission remains the same. Inspire the next generation of community leaders.
The move away from “WMCD” has us saying goodbye to a name that has been part of our story from day one – and that’s hard. “WMCD” helped build this community - bringing together the volunteers, youth, sponsors, donors, and families who made this all possible. These four letters are an important part of who we are, and we have so many memories that we’ll share over the next few months.
While we have a new name that better reflects who we are, we will remain rooted in our history through continuing the work to help youth make a difference in their communities. New name, same core purpose.
To every person who’s been a part of our story so far, thank you. You’ve helped us shape this organization into something we’re so proud of. And as we head into an exciting new chapter, we’ll welcome more people into our community.
Here's to the next chapter of the story – and to a new name carrying forward the same purpose we love.
