Big Event 2021: The One We Never Expected

Saturday, April 10th 2021 is a day that we will never forget. After a year of dancing, doing crazy fundraising challenges, hearing miracle kiddo stories, and attending virtual events, Our dancers pushed harder than ever. Despite everything that has happened with the impact of COVID-19, we have continued to fight For The Kids every single day. On this day, whether you were in your room, at the Maucker Union, or with other dancers celebrating, we united as an organization on this special day.

One thing that we take pride in is getting to hear everyone’s stories and their reasons for why they are involved. The University of Northern Iowa’s Dance Marathon participants strived to #BeTheReason all year long for the kiddos and families at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. Our UNI students were prepared to dance badly in order to save lives, push fundraising efforts and worked tirelessly until the very last second at our virtual Big Event.

This year UNI DM turned the big 1-O, and while this year’s Big Event looked a little different, we were so glad we had the opportunity to provide a safe and fun event. Being able to make a difference virtually brought a strength of connections no matter where the dancers or donors are located. A new level of impact was made on what we could do as an organization with more emotional support than ever before.

The Big Event was full of crazy challenges such as blindfolded makeovers, TikTok dances, eat it or wear it, chubby bunny, pie it in the face, and many more. We got to see miracle kiddos smiling while their families shared their stories virtually, and dancers crying as their hearts became a little more full. Our Executive Board had a blast getting to be able to communicate to so many people after a long wait for the best day of the year. Encouraging our dancers to take a step back to look at all the miracles that were in the making and power of what we are capable of doing. Resonating on our impact we are proud of every single person involved with Dance Marathon between our dancers, Executive Board, sponsors, viewers, and families. This year UNI Dance Marathon raised $240,767.10 with $6,012 raised during fundraising hour, and several tears shed in celebration.

We cannot express enough our gratitude for all of our sponsors who donated their time, energy, and money for the day of the Big Event. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Loyally,

Dance Marathon