Year 7: Half A Million Miracles

Dance Marathon 7 has come and gone, summer is upon us, and it’s already time to start planning for the 2019 Big Event. Before doing that, it’s time to reflect on the past year.

We set lofty goals this year. We wanted each and every one of you to #MakeYourMarkFTK. We are a program of just about 1,200 students, but as the 2017-2018 executive board sat around a table planning this year’s event, they planned on raising no less than $500,000. The goal was to make #HalfAMillionMiracles and fund a second life flight team for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

This year, we had our second push day where we chose to not set a specific goal. We just wanted to know: how much can we make in one day? The answer: $65,009.21. This was 13% of our goal in just. one. day.

That day, while unbelievable, was nothing in comparison to the Big Event. We listened as the gong rang again and again, getting us closer and closer to our goal. We listened to the family stories, which pushed us to get another donation. We had our sights set on that goal, all of you, the dancers, saw this goal and made it happen.

Before we knew it, it was time for the big reveal, when we not only reached our lofty goal, but exceeded it. We could not have raised $550,713.07 without each and every one of you. We reached #HalfAMillionMiracles, you Made Your Mark FTK, and we raised enough money to finance a second life flight team at the hospital to save that many more lives.

Thank you for a great year, the best year, yet. We still cannot believe the incredible growth of our program and we cannot wait to see UNI Dance Marathon continue to grow and make so many more miracles.