It seems like no matter what time of the day it is, someone is on TV dancing to win money, a contract or even to lose weight. With shows like “America’s Best Dance Crew”,” Dancing With The Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance?” continuing to grow in popularity, some Eastern organizations are taking advantage of the new dance mania to raise money for charity and show that you can’t put Eastern in a corner.

Eastern’s Sexual Assault Counseling and Information Services held “Shake it for SACIS” in February and ended up raising $1,000. Participants learned up to four new dances and saw performances by Eastern dance groups.

Bonnie Buckley, the executive director of SACIS Charity events, said dancing events are being chosen because of their unique and fun nature.

“Dancing was something we felt would stand out amongst the other events,” Buckley said. “Dancing is becoming a very popular thing in the media so our idea seemed not only fun but relevant as well.”

The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity has chosen to use the “Dance Party” charity event to raise money for their own cause, The Children’s Miracle Network that works with St. Johns Hospital to improve the lives of their patients.

“A dance marathon is a chance for us to do something different while having fun and helping kids at the same time,” said Steve Morck, a sophomore mass communication major and member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

The dance marathon will be held from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on March 6 in the McAfee Gym and is $7 for a single or $50 for a team of 10.

Scott Hepner can be reached at 581-7942 or at swhepner@eiu.edu.