Dance Marathon

Dance Marathon: Students Miss-A-Meal in support of Riley Hospital for Children

Last week students had the opportunity to Miss-a-Meal in support of Dance Marathon, a fundraising event to be held on March 26-27 on Saint Mary’s campus. Done in conjunction with Sodexo food services, students were asked to donate their meal swipe in the Dining Hall on February 18th. By giving their name and ID number, the money for their meal went toward Dance Marathon’s goal of raising funds for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Ind. “Our goal is to make everyone aware of the opportunity and hopefully give everyone a chance to participate,” says Kelly M. Deranek ’10, Saint Mary’s College Dance Marathon president.

According to Kelly, Riley Hospital for Children is the only children’s comprehensive hospital in the state. “They treat the sickest of Indiana’s children,” says Kelly. “They treat every child regardless of their family’s ability to pay and about 50% of the work they do goes uncompensated because of this principle they hold.”

Margaret Burke ’10 was on hand in the Dining Hall to sign up students for Miss-a-Meal. As one of the chairs of the Morale committee for Dance Marathon, Margaret and the other committee members will work to teach participants a line dance, one of the many activities devised to keep participants moving for the 12-hour marathon. “This year’s dance is about seven or eight minutes long and is comprised of sections of songs from today’s music to music from past generations,” describes Margaret. Participants will be stepping to the likes of Lady GaGa, Footloose, and the theme song to Austin Powers. “By the end of the night, when the sun is rising, we do the dance one last time with every person in the gym knowing this line dance. It is a really exiting time,” says Margaret.

Margaret says she volunteers her time with Dance Marathon because she sees the benefits it has for the future of children. “I have heard so many parents say, ‘If it were not for Riley’s, my child would not be alive today.’ By raising money for this hospital, we are in turn helping these children.”

For more information and updates about Dance Marathon visit www.smcdm.org.