Raising $160,000.24, the student-led organization Saint Mary's College Dance Marathon hosted their 18th annual Dance Marathon for the tri-campus on Saturday, April 6. The Dance Marathon was hosted in the Angela Athletic Center for the race car-themed event's entire 12-hour duration. The event is centered around fundraising money for the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.
The Dance Marathon featured activities such as bracelet making, letter writing, dancing and games. Besides these activities, the event also hosted activities involving fundraising and showcasing the stories of various families whose children have been patients at the hospital. The families at the event told their stories to attendees and discussed how the Dance Marathon has impacted their lives. To supplement these discussions, the event also featured slideshows that showed pictures of patients' journeys in the Riley Hospital for Children.
The Saint Mary's Dance Marathon club is comprised of multiple committees that planned and fundraised for the event throughout the school year. The donations made through the club's fundraising goes directly to needed patient services as well as covers 100% of the patients' bills. Some of the money raised also goes to research.
“I joined my freshman year, and it's the relationships that kept me invested in Dance Marathon,” senior Anne Goralczyk said.
Many students involved in Dance Marathon have a desire to help others in need. The event even had posters explaining why people joined the club.
”At the start of the year, we attend all the activity fairs and encourage people to sign up,” Goralczyk said. “Those people can then decide how involved they want to get in the Dance Marathon. Anyone is welcome.”
