University of Iowa Dance Marathon 2013

By Claire Watkins

Current MHA students were among the many DM participants this year

Dance Marathon is a non-profit organization that raises money for children’s hospitals all across the nation.  Participants work year-round to fundraise and plan events to raise awareness about this remarkable cause for the kids.  All of the hard work and dedication culminates in the marathon itself where participants stay awake for hours on end, dancing and standing for those who can’t.  

I was introduced to this organization my sophomore year of undergrad at Indiana University when I participated as a dancer for the first time.  I immediately fell in love with the cause and was blown away by the miracles it can make in the lives of children.  My junior year I became a member of the Morale committee, and my senior year I had the opportunity to lead all of the dancers in the teaching of our Morale line dance.  After three years of participation in the organization, when it came time to graduate, I was rather heartbroken to have to give that experience up. 

Fortunately, after getting to know the fellow students in our graduate program, I discovered that one of the second year students was extremely involved in the University of Iowa’s Dance Marathon.  In fact, this year he served as president.  After sharing our experiences and passion for the organization, it did not take him very long to convince me to get involved. 

Over the past 18 years, University of Iowa’s Dance Marathon has raised more than $11.3 million to benefit over 600 families who have been treated at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital Pediatric Oncology Unit.  This year several of my classmates and I participated in the marathon.  At the end of the fundraising year was the 24-hour BIG event that celebrated children’s fight against cancer and remembered those who have lost their battle.  As hard as it was to stay awake and standing all 24 hours, my classmates and I leaned on each other and reminded one another that our situation was insignificant to what many of the children at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital face in their battles for a healthy life.  We stayed encouraged by participating in all of the different activities that they had for the dancers, keeping up with the line dance, and most importantly, listening to the incredibly inspiring stories of the children and their families. 

In the end, we laughed, we cried, and we had a really great time.  The mantra of the marathon that helped to get us through was: “A dream for every child, a dance for every heart, creating tomorrow by dancing today.” At hour 24 of the marathon when the fundraising total was raised, it was truly a moment that took my breath away.  The marathon had another record-breaking year, raising $1,529,560 all for the kids!  We were so proud to have helped play a part in making a difference in the lives of these children, and I am already looking forward to dancing again next year.

This year's dancers raised $1,529,650 for the kids