The Behind-the-Scenes Committee
It was just 4 years ago when Emily Steinmetz was a freshman at the University of Northern Iowa. She made a choice that would not only change her life, but the lives of many others forever. While scouring the organization fair, she was approached by an executive member of Dance Marathon who in a light-hearted manner used “the sun and a trophy to blind me and forced me to stop and talk to them. When they explained what UNI Dance Marathon was and how it helped others, I was hooked.”
Emily said she signed up to be apart of this organization because “I wanted to be part of something bigger than me. I wanted to be involved with something that could change people's lives and that is how I fell in love with the organization and what we do.” Since then, Emily has been apart of the Recruitment, Day-Of, and Media committees during her 4 years with Dance Marathon.
Emily is currently involved with the Corporate Partnerships committee. What is this committee all about you might ask? Annie Lawler, Corporate Partnerships committee leader, says that “the C.P. committee does a lot of behind the scenes work for events and fundraising. We set up all of the giveback nights throughout the year with places like Panera, Buffalo Wild Wings, and NinjaU.” Emily says that this particular group helps her to utilize her two passions. "I am a business major and I love helping others, so I could utilize both those loves to help the miracle kiddos and their families.”
It seems as though some of the Dance Marathon members don’t know a lot about this particular committee. “A lot of times the Corporate Partnerships committee gets overlooked because we are a small committee, but that is one of the best things about us.” Emily said one of her favorite things about her committee is the joint 'friendsgiving' they had this year with the Outreach Committee. They are a small, but mighty force to be reckoned with. All of their members work so hard for our miracle kiddos and their families. There are so many people involved with this organization that add up to the bigger picture. We could not reach our goals and help the families that we do without all of our committees and our outstanding members like Emily.
When I asked Annie why she nominated Emily as an outstanding member of this committee, her answer was wholehearted and pure: "she has been such an incredible asset. Over break, she put a lot of hard work into completing her Christmas call sheet and she goes above and beyond in reaching out to and following up with businesses. She also has been in charge of creating a sponsor newsletter every month that we send out to keep our sponsors in the know. She has come to every committee meeting and comes to many givebacks and other Dance Marathon events and just does an overall great job of representing Corporate Partnerships and UNI Dance Marathon.”
Thank you Emily and the Corporate Partnerships committee for all your hard work!
