Former Dance Marathon participant, blockbuster actress and Northwestern alumna Kimberly Williams will return to NU on Tuesday to help psyche up students for this year’s 30-hour fund-raiser.
Williams, a 1993 graduate who starred in the “Father of the Bride” movies and the television series “Relativity,” will speak at the DM information session 7:30 tonight at Tech Auditorium.
“It’s very cool to have a celebrity come to get a lot of people motivated and excited about Dance Marathon,” said Medill senior Kathy Bryja, DM public relations co-chairwoman.
The actress will speak on behalf of this year’s DM beneficiary, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, for which she is a spokeswoman.
EGPAF is a nonprofit organization that funds and conducts scientific research aimed at fighting HIV and AIDS in children. The foundation has raised more than $85 million since its inception in 1988, according to a press release issued by the organization.
Held annually during Winter Quarter’s Reading Week, DM features about 500 students dancing for 30 hours straight. The event raised $537,645 last year for Gilda’s Club Chicago, setting a new record for the seventh consecutive year.