EXEC LETTER: TANNER BERNHARD

What is Dance Marathon at UNI? Although a lot of people know what Dance Marathon is on campus there are still some that have little to no clue what Dance Marathon is or what all we do. I want to use this letter to the DM world to give you a better idea of what our organization does. When I was a freshmen, I had no clue what UNI Dance Marathon was all about but fell in love with it after attending my first Big Event. I want to give you guys a look into what it is all about so you can sign up for your first Big Event in March!

In very general terms, The University of Northern Iowa Dance Marathon strives to provide hope and comfort for families with children facing life threatening illnesses by raising money for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and hosting events that heighten student and community awareness. That is the very wide overview of the organization, let's take a look at the nitty gritty now. UNI Dance Marathon raises money by putting on amazing fundraisers like a Foam 5K Run, Trick or Treating for Kids Who Can’t, Bake Sales, and much more, as well as from donations that students at UNI raise. Our goal this year as a University is to raise over $225,000! So you may be asking, where exactly does that money go? UNI gives all the money we raise to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital in Iowa City. The money goes towards many things that benefit the kiddos that are staying in the hospital. In 2013 and 2014, UNI DM donated a total of $100,000 set aside for the building of a PICU room in the new hospital that will have our name on the door. So, what can you expect from the Big Event? Our Big Event is on March 7th, 2015, in the Maucker Union. The Big Event is the ending of a dance marathon year. It is a celebration of our kiddos, a time to reflect on what our organization is doing and why we do it, and finally, to end the event the amount that we have raised is revealed. During out Big Event, dancers will get the opportunity to play games, dance, eat, celebrate, and get to learn about and meet some of our miracle kiddos! The Big Event is a great day, the event lasts 12 hours and we ask that all of our dancers remain standing that entire time. Dance Marathon changes and saves lives and is a great organization to be a part of. I will never forget my experience at my first Big Event and I urge everybody to sign up for it ASAP. You can sign up for the Big Event here. I hope to see you all on March 7th! FTK!