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Arnold School student coordinating ‘Miracle Jeans Day’ for Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital
September 7, 2010
Miracle Jeans Day takes place Sept. 15.
Support the Children’s Miracle Network with a $5
donation and wear jeans to help children
at Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital.
Designer Giorgio Armani once said, “Jeans represent democracy in fashion.”
If this statement is true, then you can celebrate democracy in true-blue fashion by donning a pair of your favorite jeans on Wednesday, Sept. 15, and help the Children’s Miracle Network.
“By contributing $5 for Miracle Jeans Day, Arnold School of Public Health faculty and staff will be able to wear jeans to work,” said Dr. Thomas Chandler, dean of the Arnold School of Public Health.
Students, for whom jeans are a fashion basic, are encouraged to wear their jeans and make a donation.
Melissa Brantley, an Arnold School junior who is majoring in public health, is coordinating the Miracle Jeans Day effort for the Palmetto Health Foundation, where she has been an intern since April 2010.
“Miracle Jeans Day is an opportunity to go casual for kids,” said Brantley. “You can dress comfortably and provide support for Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital, which is our local Children’s Miracle Network hospital.”
Here’s how it works:
- 1) Participants can log on to www.miraclejeansday.com and click to make an individual or a group donation.
- 2) Individual participants have three levels of participation – bronze, for a $5 donation, you will receive a personalized bronze electronic certificate; silver, for a $10 donation, you will receive a personalized silver electronic certificate; and gold, for $20, you will receive a personalized gold electronic certificate and a complimentary, limited edition Miracle Jeans Day lapel pin.
- 3) Groups also can participate by having at least five people contribute $5. Participants will receive a Miracle Jeans Day button.
- 4) Miracle Jeans Day participants also have the option of purchasing T-shirts and lapel pins for $15 and $20, respectively. The last day to order is Monday, September 13.
- 5) For those who choose not to go online, the Arnold School’s Office of Student Services in the Health Sciences Building will collect donations, which Brantley will pick up on Sept. 15.
A graduate of Airport High School, Brantley came to Carolina as a public relations major and planned to earn a minor in public health. After taking courses in the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior at the Arnold School, she decided to change her major to public health because she has a strong interest in helping others.
During her tenure at Carolina, Brantley has been actively involved in campus charitable events, including the collegiate service organization Epsilon Sigma Alpha and the university’s well-known Dance Marathon, which also benefits Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital.
The University of South Carolina Dance Marathon drew over 1,000 participants in February and set a fund-raising record of approximately $147,000. While the 24 hours of being on your feet and moving sounds grueling, Brantley said, “The pain in our feet after 24 hours is nothing compared to the challenge that children battling cancer or illness face.”
Brantley has experienced the impact of cancer on families. Her cousin William Eli Busbee was a student at Carolina in 2001 when he participated in the Dance Marathon and raised the most money at that time for the event. An athlete, Busbee had battled asthma in his youth, but he was the picture of health when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in March 2002. He died about six months later in September.
Brantley will serve as the Social Media Coordinator for the 2011 Dance Marathon.
“Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital annually serves more than 80,000 sick and injured children from all over South Carolina. Miracle Jeans Day is a great way to show your support for local children who need your help,” she said.
“Although Miracle Jeans Day is a national effort, your funds will stay in Columbia to directly benefit Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital,” Brantley said. “Go casual for kids on September 15 and you will be benefitting children in your own community.”
For more information on how you can be involved or contribute, contact Melissa Brantley at 434-2823 or email her at Melissa.brantley@palmettohealth.org.
