Event started in 1990 as a way for student to remember her friend Ryan White

It started with one IU student who wanted to make a difference. One student wanted to remember a friend who lost his life to AIDS. It took thousands of people to believe in the vision and make it happen.\nThis weekend was the 10th anniversary of Dance Marathon. IU students danced for 36 hours to raise money for Riley Hospital for Children. But many said the money they raise is not their main goal. They said they wanted to make sure the Riley kids had the best weekend.\nIn 1990, then-student Jill Stewart (now Jill Waibel) lost her friend Ryan White to AIDS. Jeff Jones, her adviser at the time, showed her a video of a dance marathon at Pennsylvania State University. He thought they could do something similar at IU in White's memory.\n"It was really Jeff Jones' idea really," Stewart said. "There was a group of us that went down there (to Penn State) to learn how they organized it. From the start we wanted it to be a student-run organization."\nStewart said 15 IU student leaders came together to put the first Dance Marathon together. Even though the event is student-run, Stewart said it would not be possible without the support of University administration and sponsors.\nStewart met White in 1988 when she was the student body president of her high school in Cicero, Ind. White was transferred to her high school from Kokomo.\nWhite was a hemophiliac and needed blood transfusions because his blood wouldn't clot. He contracted AIDS from the contaminated blood he received. \nStewart said not much was known about AIDS at the time, and parents feared their children would contract the disease from White. This reaction prevented Ryan from attending his school in Kokomo. After many court battles and a bullet that was fired into White's home, he transferred to a high school in Cicero.\n"He was the first person with AIDS to attend a public high school," Stewart said.\nWhite was treated at Riley. But he died April 8, 1990 -- the spring before he was to attend IU. \nWhite worked in educating people about AIDS, and Stewart said White became a friend with celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Elton John. \n"When we started Dance Marathon we wanted to raise money to build the Ryan White Infectious Disease Center at Riley," Stewart said.\nAndy Waibel, Stewart's husband who was also involved in coordinating the first Dance Marathon, said there were many challenges in starting the event.\n"It was setting up the vision so that people could understand it and buy into this thing," Waibel said. "Today the challenge for the students is to keep expanding the vision."\nSince 1991 Dance Marathon has donated over $1.5 million to Riley Hospital. In 1998, the Ryan White Infectious Center was built.\nKimberly Wisniewski, a junior and the director of public relations for Dance Marathon, said the event is the largest student-run philanthropic organization on campus. She said the organization recognizes the achievement of the students with the Hope Award. This award goes to the group that presents the most spirit and has collected the most money. This year, Kappa Delta sorority and Alpha Tau Omega fraternity received the award for their efforts in raising $53,000 together.\nCandy Carbon, assistant director of the telethon department of Riley Hospital, said Dance Marathon represents White's courage.\n"What's neat about this event is that I can empower others and let them know what good they are doing. The students do everything themselves," Carbon said. "They ask questions but it's their Dance Marathon."\nCarbon said Riley's is a referral hospital only for the most critically and chronically ill children. They have 262 beds and half of their patients are under age 2.\n"Riley is Indiana's most comprehensive care hospital -- we take kids with all diseases," Carbon said. "First and foremost we take care of Hoosier children. These are the best doctors in the world and it is a reason to go to work. It makes me so proud and it's complete serenity"