FSU students will literally dance the weekend away starting Saturday at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center in the largest student-run philanthropic event on campus.

The FSU Dance Marathon will keep hundreds of students on their feet for 32 consecutive hours with hopes of topping last year’s total of more than $224,000 raised for seriously ill and underserved children.

Proceeds from the event are split evenly between the FSU College of Medicine’s Pediatric Outreach Program and the Children’s Miracle Network at Shands Hospital. Last year, more than 700 students participated in Tallahassee and raised money that allowed for the purchase of 10 apnea monitors for use with newborns from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

Apnea is a condition in which the babies may stop breathing.  It is often considered one of the main factors in cases of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Apnea monitors were developed to measure respiration and cardiac activity, and to give an audible alarm should any sudden change occur, which may indicate the cessation of either breathing or heart function.

The monitors, no longer covered by Medicaid, allow low-income parents to take their babies home safely several days earlier than they could otherwise. The FSU Dance Marathon, now in its 11th year, also has funded clinics for underserved children in Gretna and paid for a digital retinal camera used in the neonatal intensive care unit at TMH.

Dancing for this year’s event, with the theme, “Give a weekend, save a life,’’ begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday and ends on Sunday at 6 p.m. In between, the dancers could use moral support to help keep them upright during an exhausting and praiseworthy effort, so feel free to stop in at the Civic Center.

To make a financial contribution, go to the FSU Dance Marathon Web site, http://www.dm.fsu.edu.