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	<p>Zumba done in the Rike every Thursday is a fun way to get fit. </p>
Zumba done in the Rike every Thursday is a fun way to get fit.

Otterbein Zumbathon aims to fundraise for scholarships

Professor Simon Lawrance is known around Otterbein for his biology classes and love for Africa. But on Tuesdays, students and staff will get to know him less for his lectures and more for his dance moves.

After becoming a Zumba — dance fitness program — instructor in 2011, Lawrance found a way to combine his love for Africa and humanitarian work with his passion for dance into a Zumbathon fundraiser. “The very first time I walked into a Zumba class I loved it,” Lawrance said. “The music was so uplifting, the rhythms are amazing and the spirit in the classes is wonderful.”

After spending seven years teaching students about Uganda and Rwanda and taking trips to Africa for class SYE: Africa, Lawrance could not leave his philanthropy in the country behind. Starting off with about 10 students, there were over 100 students participating in this SYE and traveling to Africa by 2010. Since the conversion from quarters to semesters at Otterbein, this class has not been available. But Lawrance found a love for these countries that he just could not let go.

“I have never gotten it out of my system and I want to do more, so I came up with the idea of the Zumbathons and a sponsored 100 km walk in Africa next year,” he said.

Now Lawrance, alongside his favorite off-campus Zumba instructor Natalia Kapustin, is hosting and leading a Zumbathon, an hour-long Zumba session, to support the same foundations used in the SYE: Africa class which focus on helping places such as Uganda and Rwanda. During the Zumbathon, it is suggested that students donate somewhere between one and five dollars and faculty between five and ten.

“There is much need in Africa, but good will and even just a few dollars can do amazing things,” he said. “The funds will be for scholarships for orphans from the genocide who are now young adults at Imbabazi [Orphanage], younger children at an orphanage in Uganda and also the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project.”

Lawrance hopes to continue this fundraiser throughout the year by having Zumbathons every Tuesday, offering it to all students from 7-8 p.m. in Towers 310.


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