Armstrong signs jerseys for IUDM

Word of the IU Dance Marathon has extended outside of Bloomington's city limits and across the nation. Now, thanks to sophomore Delta Sigma Pi member and IUDM dancer Danielle Freimuth, Lance Armstrong has caught wind of the country's second-largest dance marathon. \nTwo IU cycling jerseys signed by the seven-time Tour de France champion will be raffled off in an IUDM fundraiser sponsored by Delta Sigma Pi. Freimuth's parents donated the jerseys. \nCorrine Krawczyk and David Krawczyk, Freimuth's mother and stepfather, were at the Ride for the Roses, a pledge ride in Texas organized by Armstrong himself, Freimuth said. David Krawczyk was Denver's top fundraiser for the Livestrong Challenge, so he earned an opportunity to be one of a select few people to get three items personally autographed, Freimuth said. When Corrine Krawczyk found out her daughter was participating in IUDM, she decided to purchase two IU cycling jerseys and bring them along. Hoping to help out with the fundraising, she tried extremely hard to get them autographed, explaining the cause they would benefit. Freimuth said a woman in charge of the private autograph session told her mother Armstrong couldn't sign anything else for them, but the four-time AP Male Athlete of the Year thought otherwise. \n"He just grabbed them and said, 'I'm going to sign these,'" Freimuth said of the cyclist.\nIUDM President Josh Wendahl said he thinks it's "awesome" that Armstrong not only knows about the fundraiser but went out of his way to help. \n"It says so much that he wanted to help our cause," Wendahl said in an e-mail. \nDelta Sigma Pi has put together a raffle to collect money for its 37 IUDM dancers. The raffle, which will take place during the marathon, will consist solely of the highly coveted autographed jerseys. The fraternity is one of many organizations that have become increasingly involved this year, thanks not only to the generous jersey contribution, but more significantly because of the great strides made by Delta Sigma Pi IUDM co-chairs Carol Dangelmajer and Andy O'Bryan. \n"Andy and I are really obsessed with this cause," Dangelmajer said in an e-mail. "Since IUDM is mainly a greek event, our co-ed business fraternity had little involvement in Dance Marathon in the past. Andy and I wanted to change that." \nO'Bryan also voiced his excitement about the group's increased involvement. \n"Both Carol and I have personal ties to Riley (Hospital), and we cannot think of a better way to spend our semester than helping out the kids at Riley Hospital," O'Bryan said. "We spend almost every waking moment doing things for Dance Marathon. We fail classes for IUDM." \nAccording to http://iudm.org, the marathon raised $677,415.19 for Riley in 2005, primarily through donations or special events such as last week's annual date auction. \nBuying raffle tickets is another simple way to help the cause, at the same time getting the opportunity to win the Armstrong jerseys. Tickets went on sale Wednesday and will also be available today in the business school and in the arboretum, or at the IUDM office in the Indiana Memorial Union until the marathon. While those involved with IUDM are trying to raise as much money as possible, the primary focus of IUDM is not the total amount of money brought in. \n"Whether its $1,000 or $1,000,000, we're making a difference for these kids, and that's what makes IUDM such a great organization," said RD Ahlers, IUDM vice president of finance.