Students dancing all day and night at the Liacouras Center. credit cbs

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Close to 1,000 Temple University students danced together for half the day Saturday at the Liacouras Center to help sick children in Philadelphia.

The annual “HootaThon” kicked off at noon.

“We do a ten second countdown, everyone stands up together, and then you don’t sit down the rest of the day,” explains executive director Brian Cupitt

And the colorful event continued until midnight:

“You’ve got that red tutu on or those green socks,” Cupitt says. “You might paint your face, your hair. A lot of people get very into it and we love that.”

Among those busting a move all day and night was sophomore Kaitlyn Connors.

“We’re all dressed up in different colors, dancing, having a good time,” she tells KYW Newsradio. “It’s a really great thing to be a part of. What CHOP does for the kids is really important.”

The “HootaThon” is the grand finale of a full year of fundraising efforts for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

CHOP miracle kids and their families spoke to the students throughout…which means a lot to senior Alex Brannan:

“What’s impacted me the most is hearing these stories from the children. Even though I haven’t personally dealt with cancer or anyone at CHOP, meeting these children helped build that picture for me.”

He admits this is tiring, but well worth it in the end.

While the CHOP miracle kids kept the students motivated, morale dances each hour kept them energized.

“Where everybody does the same choreographed dance that they’ve learned throughout the day,” Cupitt says.

The end goal was to raise $400,000….which they surpassed.