The University’s fifth annual Dance Marathon, renamed Pack-A-Thon, will have its kickoff in the Brickyard Monday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Pack-A-Thon is a 24-hour marathon for students to participate in various activities and raise money for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital.

The kickoff will be an opportunity for those interested in participating in Pack-A-Thon to register, because the event’s Web site will be launched today. Students will also have the chance to win gift certificates to a bookstore and local restaurants.

The organizers will serve free pizza at the kickoff.

“It’s pretty much a big get-together,” said Diana Coyle, overall committee chair and senior in communication.

Julie Cavanaugh, fund-raising chair and a junior in biochemistry and microbiology, said the event was renamed Pack-A-Thon because so many people were under the impression the marathon was an all-night dancing event.

In reality, Cavanaugh said participants may watch movies, eat, play games and participate in performances, among other things.

“Pack-A-Thon is a 24-hour, no sleeping, no sitting event,” she said.

Coyle said she has been participating in this event since her freshman year.

“My sister took part in it at Rutgers University and from then, I just kind of realized it was a good cause,” she said. “When I came to this school, I realized it was something I wanted to be a part of.”

Coyle said this year, the Pack-A-Thon committees want to make more money than UNC-Chapel Hill’s marathon.

“We’re going to be competing a lot with UNC,” Coyle said. “They’ve been outdoing us every year.”

Cavanaugh said last year they raised $12,000 and this year they hope to raise $25,000. She said this monetary goal may seem high, but if the amount of participants double, so can the money.

Each participant in Pack-A-Thon has to find someone to pledge a minimum of $1 for each hour he or she spends at the event. However, according to Cavanaugh, most participants stay the full 24 hours.

The committees plan various fund-raising events throughout the year until Pack-A-Thon takes place. These events include a golf tournament, among others. This year, the committee cancelled the golf tournament, which costed $52 per participant, because of a lack of participants.

She said one reason not too many people signed up for the tournament was because many students are busy.

“It’s reaching the point in the semester when everybody is bogged down with schoolwork,” Cavanaugh said.

The manager of Krispy Kreme donates the donuts to the event every year, according to Cavanaugh.

Jenna Tie, publicity chair and sophomore in communication with a concentration in public relations, said this year Pack-A-Thon organizers hope to reach out to everyone on campus, including students on Centennial Campus, and community members.

“My own personal goals are to raise awareness about children in the hospitals that are terminally ill … and get the Dance Marathon bigger than it was,” Tie said.