The group of 315 dancers that jived all night had no qualms about their exhaustion once the college’s Dance Marathon organizers unveiled the total amount of money raised. The all-night event earned an astounding $129,402.50.

Last year, on the same stage, Zac Johnson, the Children’s Miracle Network national director of Dance Marathon, announced Loras was the first college in the U.S. with an enrollment of less than 2,000 to raise more than $100,000. Motivation and expectations were high for this year, and the dedication resulted in a whooping increase of about $23,000 from last year’s $106,208.95.

“Loras still has the highest per-capita fundraising Dance Marathon Program. It is the only college with an enrollment under 2,000 in the country that raises money in six figures,” said Johnson on the phone.

St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN, was the runner-up to Loras in the rankings for colleges with fewer than 2,000 students and raising that kind of money. St. Mary’s raised $63,200 this year, less than half of what Loras raised despite having a slightly larger enrollment than Loras.

“People are passionate here about Dance Marathon. They pour a lot of hours of dedication and hard work because they care,” said Rachel Rolfes, the chairperson of this year’s  Dance Marathon team.

“Dancers, committee members and executive members spent more than 13,000 hours of philanthropic service with the Dance Marathon this year,” said Kim Walsh, adviser to the Dance Marathon.

Fundraising is an important aspect of the Dance Marathon program. All the participants have a goal of raising a minimum of $150 each. Each contributes a $20 entry fee and then raises donations through letter writing and other forms of fundraising.

The contributions come not just from the dancers’ efforts, but also through corporate sponsors, campus fundraising activities and mini-marathons at different elementary, middle and high schools and day care centers. The sponsors for this year included Best Buy, Dupaco, Plane Art T-shirt Place, Aramark, Mercy Family Pharmacy and U.S. Bank, among others.

“It’s not just the monetary help that the sponsors provide. Some, like Best Buy, help us by donating video games for the night and, some others like Plane Art T-Shirt Place, help us by giving discounts for our T-shirts that we order through them,” Rolfes added.

For Loras, campus fundraising resulted in a total of $11,402, while corporate fundraising raised $17,840. The mini-marathons raised $22,198 and the dancers raised the most: $77,962.50.

The Miracle Kids have a special contribution in the Dance Marathon. They are the children who receive services from the children’s hospital. There are 6,500 families in Dubuque that have, at some point, sent their kids to Iowa University’s Children’s Hospital. Each year, many of these children show up with their parents to support the activities and efforts of the Dance Marathon teams.

“There are 60 families that have signed up to work with us to promote our events,” said Walsh.

The Dance Marathon program has contributed $434,724.16 to the Children’s Miracle Network and the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital since its inception in 2006.

“It’s wonderful what miraculous things the college does,” said Walsh, whose 4-year-old niece, Anna, was diagnosed with stage IV Rhabdomyosarcoma last November. “It really makes a difference with Anna this year.”

There are 130 colleges and 80 high schools around the country that take part in Dance Marathon to raise funds for children’s hospital. While there is a trend of a growth in the funds collected every year through college and university Dance Marathon programs, Johnson said that the challenge has gotten larger amidst the current economic recession.

“It’s the magic of this millennium generation that accepts the challenge and raises so much money through creative programing and hard work,” said Johnson.

“Rachel’s team came to us and said that it was going to have a 20 percent increase while the progress was slower for other colleges. And she did it and I can’t stop bragging about the wonderful thing that Loras College has been doing,” he added.

“We can’t tell how wonderful, fabulous and proud these parents are, for the support that the Duhawks show. Parents are always grateful for making their costs more bearable,” said Sheila Baldwin, assistant vice president of Health Sciences Development at University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

Johnson added, “the funds raised by dance marathon teams around the nation have doubled in the last three years and parents are really grateful, and so are the kids and patients for the continued support.”

Children’s Miracle Network is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to generating funds and awareness programs for the benefit of pediatric patients at 170 children’s hospitals throughout the U.S. and Canada. UI Children’s Hospital serves children and their families at its main campus in Iowa City and satellite clinics in communities throughout Iowa.

It is ranked among the top-20 children’s hospitals in the nation by “Parents Magazine.” It is also the first and only hospital in Iowa ranked as one of America’s Best Children’s Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for neonatology (No. 23), orthopedics (No. 24), and pulmonology (No. 25).

Through the Children’s Miracle Network, the money goes to support pediatric research for diseases, cancer-related studies and enhancements for patients and family stays,  such as entertainment systems and books, games and other means of entertainment at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital in Iowa City. Every college’s fund is appropriated for a specific purpose in the hospital.

“Ours goes to Room of Magic, vending machines, CarePages and Beads of Bravery, among others,” Rolfes added.

Room of Magic is a special space for children inside the children’s hospital.

“It’s like a movie theater inside the children’s hospital where we hold movie events on the weekends for pediatric patients and their families. Children get the opportunity to go out of their hospital rooms, and we try to help create a family and home environment through fun activities,” added Baldwin from the Hospital.

 

How does UI Children’s Hospital use the money?

1. Vending Machines: Each child in the hospital receives two tokens daily to use in any Loras DM vending machine in the hospital.

2. Room of Magic: Loras pays for movies and free concessions on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons for kids who want to go to the Room of Magic for movies on the weekends.

3. CarePages: Loras pays for the website rights for any pediatric patient at University of Iowa Children’s Hospital to have a page where they can blog to families and friends on progress.

4. Beads of Bravery: Loras just added this program, designed for any child that is undergoing long-term treatment at the hospital. Kids receive a “bravery bead” for each shot, test or other procedures they must undergo during treatment.

5. Anytime CPR Kits: It is a take-home kit that teaches caregivers how to give CPR to their child..

Comfort Kits: Pizza, continental breakfast, gas cards, etc., go to families who have ailing kids.

 

Only Penn State did better

Loras raised way more money than any other college with fewer than 2,000 students, and only Penn State University can say it did better than Loras in terms of the average amount of money raised per capita (total of enrolled students). Other noteworthy Dance Marathon achievements at colleges and universities in the U.S.:

School	Total raised	Enrollment	Money raised per student
Penn State	$10 million	44,000	$227.27
LORAS	$129,403	1,568	$82.53
Northwestern	$1 million	19,000	$52.63
Iowa	$1.2 million	30,000	$40
Wartburg	$17,704	1,700	$10.41
Iowa State	$264,290	28,000	$9.44
Rutgers	$380,351	52,000	$7.31

 

Loras Dance Marathon Fundraising breakdown by year:

2006:             $21,527.50
2007:             $37,127.16
2008:             $53,172.89
2009:             $87,285.16
2010:             $106,208.95
2011:             $129,402.50

Total: $434,724.16

Inside the numbers

Breakdown of how much organizers and participants raised ahead of Dance Marathon

Campus fundraising:  $11,402

Corporate fundraising: $17,840

Mini-marathons: $22,198

Dancers’ contributions: $77,962.50

 

 

 

 

 

 

Has it been a while or what?! We apologize for the very long pause in on our blogs, but with summer and the beginning of school, you have that! So this blog is going to catch you up on my life as a DM-er over the summer and into the fall!

Speaking of summer, myself and three other Dance Marathon Executive Board members had the AMAZING opportunity to go to Washington D.C. for the National Dance Marathon Conference. At this conference we met the directors, volunteers, and other students who live and breathe FTK and DM love, just like we do! The entire weekend was spent networking, sharing ideas, and attending sessions to help us create the best DM we can. Not only was the weekend enlightening, it was also so inspirational. I left the conference on, what I thought, was the BIGGEST Dance Marathon high (which I was warned of) and couldn’t wait to get back to Dubuque to begin working. I was excited to jump in and get to know the new E-board, the hospital, and of course our Miracle Families. I soon discovered through a few DM related events how much Dance Marathon REALLY means to me.

The first event was my first visit to Christopher Turnis in the Hospital. Christopher is one of Loras College Dance Marathon’s Miracle Kids who currently spends a lot of time in the hospital (but hopefully not for his upcoming birthday!). He was in and out of the hospital all summer and is now in and out of UICH during his kindergarten year. In meeting Christopher you could tell that him and his mother are both very familiar with Dance Marathon and look forward to it each year. While I couldn’t stay with them for long, it was great to finally make a connection with some members of what is truly our DM family.

The second event was a tour of the U of I Children’s Hospital given to us by a Children’s Miracle Network representative, Ashly. Ashly took myself and seven other Loras students around the hospital and explained all the services provided to the child patients and their families. I must say, that hospital has thought of everything! From play rooms, to the Room of Magic, to Wall of Fame for babies who spent time in the NICU, to pizza parties and coffee for families, everyone is given something to make their stay in the hospital a little bit easier. The atmosphere of the building and the attitude of staff make the Children’s Hospital a very special place for kids to not only heal, but be surrounded by family, and still have a piece of childhood that some of us take for granted.

The final event was the recent ‘Popsicles in the Park’ where Miracle Families came to meet the new DM E-board. Besides the fact that the only thing cold at the park was us, we had a great time! More importantly, I think the Miracle Kids who attended also had a good time. It feels good to know that you can be a part of an organization where acceptance and care for others happens even before you really know them!

Through all these recent happenings and encounters with everything that Loras College Dance Marathon supports, I find myself thinking that DM is no longer just an organization to put on an event to raise money for cute kids in the hospital who need our support. Dance Marathon is a small chunk of the love, care, and healing that the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital, the Children’s Miracle Network, and EVERYONE involved in can provide to kids and their families.

I am very excited for the remainder of our DM year. I look forward to providing what I can to an organization that I have truly fallen in love with. I invite you and anyone else you know to come learn and feel what I am talking about!

FTK!
Rachel Rolfes

Photos from the Dance Marathon Halloween Party @ Loras College

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