Background Info: My name is Derek Klein and I graduated from UNI in 2014. My senior year at UNI, I served as the Director of Recruitment for UNI DM! Why should people get involved with Dance Marathon? As cliché as it sounds, it truly is a life-changing experience. You will never forget hearing the families present incredible stories about how their child has overcome cancer, how they have spent 11 out of the last 12 months at the children’s hospital in Iowa City, or the hea

I don’t care why you do dance marathon, or how you were recruited for the big event on March 7th. For some people, needing something to do on a given weekend is their reason, and for others, they wanted to pad a resume. Everyone comes to dance marathon for their own reason, and that’s okay. It’s okay to want to attend a social event, to see what students have been talking about all year long, to want to get a free t-shirt and complete a campus traditions challenge. I say this

People always ask me why I do Dance Marathon. They ask me why I take so much of my time and dedicate it to a position that I am not even paid for. They ask me why I am fundraising for a cause I am not affected by. They question my sanity. They question my heart. And they question why I care about DM so much more than I care about sleep. Every single time somebody asks me these questions I respond with a simple answer, “Have you ever done DM?” It almost never fails that th

Why did you join Dance Marathon in the first place? I joined Dance Marathon last year because I just felt like it was a way I could get involved while doing something that doesn't pertain to my major; it was the best decision I've made! What made you want to be a morale captain this year? I wanted to become a morale captain this year because last year the Big Event was so much fun and the morale captains were awesome! I just knew I wanted to get even more involved with th

There’re only a few things in which I have a truly hopeless belief. I believe in the power of friendship. I believe that bigger dreams result in bigger success. And I believe in the power of numbers; one person can do amazing things, but 1,000 can do the unthinkable. (I also believe whole-heartedly in Harry Potter, but that’s a different story). My year on the Executive Team for UNI Dance Marathon has been full of laughs, late nights, and memories. Not only have I spent eve

Dance Marathon and UNI alumni, Brenna (Bush) Huggins, answered some questions about how involvement in Dance Marathon has impacted her life. Background Info: My name is Brenna Huggins (formally Bush) and I graduated from UNI in 2013. My last year at UNI, I served as one of the Co-Executive Directors of Dance Marathon. Why and how did you get involved with Dance Marathon? One of my good friends Emily Hanson and I started UNI Dance Marathon with only a few committee members

1. Post your donor drive A LOT When you signed up for UNI Dance Marathon, you also signed up for a Donor Drive which is a convenient way to fundraise through online donations but it also shows the checks you have received. The best way to reach people you don’t normally talk to is to post this link on your Facebook page. Once the link is clicked, it is an easy and straightforward way to donate. 2. Twitter re-tweets and favorites Our world is currently obsessed with social

Do you know when there is too much to do, so you end up doing nothing; when there is so much going on that all you can think about is sleeping? College is a time when there is almost too much to do, and too many things to think about. Between classes, jobs, good grades, finances, relationships, papers, friendships, Pancheros….. the list seems never-ending. On top of all this, you will run into people who want you to care about even more things; causes that you are not affecte

As a member of UNI Dance Marathon, you have the opportunity to help support our 37 Miracle Kiddos and their families. The happiness and strength our kiddos possess is never lost on me. Many of our kiddos are the healthiest they have ever been, which is a definite cause for celebration! We also have the opportunity to celebrate the lives that 4 of our kiddos lived, as they will continue to dance in our hearts forever. Unfortunately, this has not been the easiest year for almos

This summer I had the incredible opportunity to meet Jackson Gipe and his family at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital in Iowa City with three other executive members. We were on our way back from DePaul University, host of the 2014 Dance Marathon Leadership Conference where representatives from every Dance Marathon across the nation attend. I was on a DM high and eager to get started for UNI’s year of fundraising, events, and making miracles happen. When we arrived