In the month of December I am excited to be helping families with children with life threatening illness through the Dance Marathon fundraiser at Iowa State. One of my readers, Courtney, reached out to me about this cause and I'm happy to help by donating $0.50 for every comment during the month towards Dance Marathon.
Let's hear more from Courtney on Dance Marathon:
This month’s Comments for a Cause truly shows the power of
networking through 4-H. I first met Val when she was the President of my 4-H
Club when I joined 4-H in fourth grade. Since then, I have continued to follow
her blog on Facebook and Pinterest. That is when I first found out about her
Comments for a Cause she does on her blog. I approached Val about doing
Comments for a Cause for Dance Marathon, an organization near and dear to my
heart since I started school at Iowa State, and she graciously agreed.
Dance Marathon is neither a dance nor a marathon; it is a
celebration of life. (It’s also a fundraiser.) Dance Marathon is the largest
student-run philanthropy on Iowa State’s campus, helping children with life
threatening illnesses for 18 years, giving financial and emotional support to
hundreds of families across Iowa. All money raised through the event is given
directly to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital through the Children’s
Miracle Network. This year’s Dance Marathon at Iowa State is January 23rd
and 24th.
I first got involved with Dance Marathon my freshman year in
college, participating as a dancer. I fell in love with the organization and
have been a member of the Families Committee for the last three years. As a
member of the Families Committee, I get assigned a family and serve as their
contact. I have been partnered with the Graber family since they first joined
Dance Marathon three years ago. This is a picture of me with the Graber family
at last year’s Dance Marathon.
The
Grabers are a member of Dance Marathon because they have a Miracle Kiddo named
Gabe. To be “eligible” for Dance Marathon, a family has to have received care
from a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. In Iowa, that is the University of
Iowa Children’s Hospital. Gabe is an energetic 4th grade boy who loves to read
books, tell jokes, and cheer on the Cyclones. Before he was born, he was
diagnosed with Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome. Gabe’s right ventricle never
fully developed, so he only has 1 pumping chamber in his heart. This defect is
corrected with a series of 3 open heart surgeries—one at birth, one at 6 months
old & one between 2-5 years old. Gabe had surgery at 6 months old and 2 ½
years old. He recovered well except for a stroke paralyzing his left side. He
has fully recovered from the stroke but has weekly physical and occupational
therapy due to significant delay in his fine
motor skills with his left hand and foot. He sees a cardiologist once a year.
Some services that Iowa State Dance
Marathon has helped fund at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital include:
- Library materials (If you ever are at the hospital, you will notice the library is painted teal, Iowa State Dance Marathon’s color, to honor our donation.)
- Patient support “comfort kits”–parking and food vouchers for family members during extended stays
- Music therapy equipment
- Infant CPR training kits
- Surgery teaching model
- Diversion tools
- Zaky positioning tool in NICU–a parental simulation tool to stimulate development in premature infants
- Video laryngoscope for PICU
- MRI vision distraction tools
- Continual improvement in recreational therapy
Thanks to the generous support so far, Iowa State Dance
Marathon has made a 1 MILLION DOLLAR pledge toward the brand new,
state-of-the-art Children’s Hospital opening in 2016 in Iowa City. This picture below shows the hospital when I visited one year ago. Click here to see the progress
that has been made!
At ISU, our big event happens in January. At this event, our
participants (dancers) stay on their feet for FIFTEEN hours to symbolize our
support for the families who spend countless hours in hospital waiting rooms.
But it’s not a punishment for us; it’s a party. We listen to music,
play games, hang out with the kids we help, and even do a bit of dancing. Watch
last year’s Thank You Video
to get a better visual for what the big event is like!
Dance Marathon is for the kids, and at Iowa
State, that’s always our focus. We build up to our big day all year long
by raising money for the kiddos at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.
After a dancer raises $250, they get to come to the party in January.
In 2014, we raised over $427,000.00 together, for the kids.
As a member of the Families Committee, we host families at various
events throughout the year. Some examples of events include a “Teal Gate”
before an Iowa State football game as well as attending the football game, a
Families Appreciation Dinner, the VEISHEA parade, and Make-A-Miracles.
Some Make-A-Miracles, similar to Make-A-Wish, I have help
organize these past three years:
- Matthew was the puck and stick boy at an Iowa State Hockey Game.
- Gabe had a Captain Underpants party and Dav Pilkey sent him autographed copies of his Captain Underpants series!
- Cy surprised Will for his 4th birthday party!
If you would like to make a personal donation, feel free to donate here to help make
miracles happen. For more information about Iowa State’s Dance Marathon,
check out their website.
Have you ever participated in Dance Marathon or have a Dance Marathon story you'd like to share? Remember to Comment for a Cause!
