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This year, we have been so blessed and excited to welcome Nicole Martins and Andrew Weaver, two Telecom professors at IU, to our IUDM family as the new faculty advisors! While Nicole and Andrew our new to our Dance Marathon family, they have been deeply intertwined with the hospital as a Riley family since 2009, after their son Owen was born early at 27 weeks gestation, 13 weeks before his set due date in June of 2009. After being born so early, Owen had no heartbeat and was not breathing. Thankfully, the doctors were able to quickly revive him and have him airlifted to Riley, where he would spend the next four months in the NICU. While at Riley, Nicole’s and Andrew’s new baby boy would fight off two infections that would nearly claim his life, a brain bleed, and eye issues that almost caused him to go blind. After fighting through these medical issues, Owen was finally strong enough to come home a week after his initial due date. Thanks to Riley, Owen is able to now in kindergarten and is going to celebrate his 5th birthday with his parents and his baby brother Elliot! “I truly believe that if Owen was born any where else, he would not have made it. I feel completely indebted to Riley for giving me my son,” Nicole said while describing her Riley experience. Nicole and Andrew are extremely excited to participate in this year’s Dance Marathon, where they will be able to give back to the hospital that gave them a life full of joy in Owen. “Andrew and I are in awe of what you all do each year to make miracles happen for other Riley children and their families,” Nicole said. Written by Paige Hergenrother
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This past Thursday night the IUDM community came together in Alumni Hall for the third annual Runway Riley. The yearly event debuts new apparel for the upcoming marathon. This event is presented by IUDM's Apparel and Merchandising committee. Riley Children showcase the new apparel by using their best modeling skills and taking the runway in the new apparel that is sold after the event is over. The night started off with a short speech from Miss Riley Lesh, a patient at Riley Children’s Hospital, where she listed the top 10 reasons you should join the IUDM family. One of the reasons being that any kid could help you meet a cute girl or boy you’re too shy to go up to. After Riley finished her speech the much anticipated fashion show began. Riley children started coming out one-by-one accompanied by committee member. Each person wore a piece of IUDM’s new apparel designed for this year’s marathon. As the kids came out on the runway we learned what they each wished for. Their answers ranged from wishing no child would ever have to go through what they went through to wishing it would rain fruit. When the show ended, the doors opened to expose a room filled with the merchandise that had been showcased by the Riley models. Floods of IUDM participants rushed in to get in line to purchase their new IUDM apparel. This year there were two sweatshirts (a blue half-zip and a white full-zip), a long-sleeved t-shirt, a short-sleeved t-shirt, and a tank top. Novelty items such as baseball caps, a Camelback water bottle, and two decal stickers. If you didn’t get a chance to attend Runway for Riley, but still want to purchase IUDM’s new apparel don’t worry, the marathon is only 44 days away and you’ll be able to purchase all of the merchandise shown at this years marathon! Written by Kaitlin Gerringer
For those of us who stand on our feet for 18– or 36 – hours at IUDM, we all have our motivations for going out of our way to register, dedicating our time and effort to fundraise, and staying on our feet way longer than humanly comfortable. During this season of fundraising, I encourage you to reflect on the true reason(s) you commit yourself to IUDM and the kids at Riley Hospital for Children as inspiration to keep you heading towards your goal. I asked a handful of IUDM participants, “Why do you dance?,” and compiled their answers for you here. Read on to refocus on the spirit of Dance Marathon and ready yourself for the quickly dwindling double-digit days we have left until this year’s marathon. “I dance for my little cousin Megan and all of the other amazing Riley kids!” “I dance to promote change and inspire others." "I dance because of the rewarding experience, and benefitting the children who have gone through more struggles than I can imagine. If I have the opportunity to give back, I am all in!" “I dance because I love how influential IUDM is on the IU and Bloomington community and because it helps raise money to help sick children and their families get better!” “I dance because I want to give back to those who need hope and those who might not have a chance to get better.” “I dance because it is the most joy fulfilling feeling when a bunch of people come together to love for people who they have never met.” "I dance to make a difference in someone's life." "The reason I dance is because I was involved in my high school's dance marathon (which is the biggest high school marathon) and I was really touched year by year with all the love and spirit from students coming together to raise money and awareness for such an incredible cause. I then decided to do IUDM because of how much I loved my high school’s dance marathon. I love to help people and make a difference, and to see a community of students with the same desire as me is why I dance- to make a change for the better." "I dance to remind myself of the blessings I have in life and not to take anything for granted." “I dance because it’s amazing to see what young people can achieve when we come together. It’s truly powerful.” “I dance so that the Riley kids know that we’re doing our best to fight alongside them and support them in every way that we can.” “I dance because I attended Riley as a kid and it was an amazing, amazing place.” "I dance for others who can't!" "I dance for my heroes: the Riley kids. I dance so that they can be the superstars. I dance for the smiles. I dance so that the Riley kids are able to be the superstars that they deserve to be for 36 hours a year. I dance for the families whose children/brothers/sisters know that they have endless support with the troubles they are facing or have faced. I dance for Ashley Crouse and her everlasting legacy that has changed the lives of so many people. I dance for the smile that radiates of Maison Kurmay's face when he hears his voice booming throughout the Tennis Center. And I dance for whoever is reading this, so you know that I'm here for you too, so that you know others are supporting you, I dance so that I can be a small part of an organization that makes the world a better place." No matter the differences that our reasons for dancing may have, everyone in the IU Tennis Center on that momentous November weekend shares one thing in common: we are all there For The Kids, and, for that, we will accomplish amazing things. FTK! Written by Meredith Baranowski
Wednesday, August 6th marked a big day in the IUDM Family: it was finally 100 days until IUDM 2014. 100 days until we dance in honor of Ryan White. 100 days until we dance to carry on Ashley Louise Crouse’s legacy. 100 days until we dance for the kids who can’t. I woke up with the same goal as everyone else on Wednesday, to raise $100 FTK. Paul Lannon (a fellow morale member) and I decided that a good way to raise money would be to offer to do any odd job or anything someone else didn’t want to do for a donation. A friend of mine, Samantha Miller, asked us if we wanted to do a power washing job for one of her neighbors in return for a donation from Samantha’s family. Little did we know, her neighbor has a child being taken care of at Riley Hospital for Children. At this point accepting this job was a no brainer, it would bring us closer to reaching our $100 goal for the day, but more importantly we would be helping a family going through more than we could even imagine. What we didn’t know at this point was that our power washing job would turn into a fun filled afternoon with one of the nicest, funniest, and most energetic 9 year olds on this planet, Aidan Brown. When we got to the Browns’ the whole “let’s power wash for a donation” idea quickly became the last priority on our list, and we started to become a part of something much bigger and more important than fundraising. When we met Aidan we sat on his stairs and talked about sports for probably 20 minutes until we realized we were just sitting on the stairs and could be on couches in the basement. We (Joe Chitwood and Samantha Miller also were with us) all fell in love with Aidan right away. The four of us just wanted to spend time with him and learn more about his life. One person would power wash while the other three would play xbox and talk with Aidan. Hanging out with Aidan was an incredible reminder as to why IUDM is so special and what IUDM is really about. Fundraising for IUDM is incredibly important, but when you take a step back and think about why you are dancing and who you are dancing for it always trumps the financial aspect of it. Because of IUDM we were connected with a family whose life isn’t “normal” per say. We were able to give them a normal day. The smiles on Aidan’s face and the energy he had reminded me why I dance. He reminded me why I will stand for 36 hours in 100 days. He reminded me why I will sacrifice my time for this cause. But most of all, he reminded me of the everlasting impact that the IUDM family can have on Riley Kids and their families. Aidan Brown is a 9 year-old boy with cancer who is being treated at Riley Hospital for Children. He is the biggest sports fan I have ever met and an inspiration to me. When I look back on the 100 day challenge I realize that it wasn’t necessarily about raising $100, it was about coming together as a family to provide hope for families in need. We all came together as one and raised an incredible amount of money all For The Kids. We all came together as one to provide hope and support for the Riley Families. Finally, we all came together as one, and now Aidan has a family supporting him that he doesn’t even know. We dance for the kids who inspire us. We dance for Aidan Brown. Written by Ryan Cason
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