Rockin’ around the clock for 36 hours

To most people, a nosebleed is a temporary inconvenience caused by a bad cold or dry weather.

However, for junior Eric Davis, a routine nosebleed that wouldn’t stop meant his aplastic anemia – a blood disorder in which the bone marrow doesn’t produce enough red and white blood cells and platelets – had relapsed. After that relapse in high school, Davis had a stem cell transplant at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.

“The staff (at Riley) became my family – we would talk about anything together,” he said. “They definitely saved my life.”

Now he works for the IU Dance Marathon, a campus organization most famous for its 36 hour dance-a-thon but that sponsors events throughout the year, as the director of Riley Development.

Davis first came to IUDM in 2005 as an IU freshman on an invitation from his step sister and said he was “blown away” by the number of people who cared about Riley enough to come out.

“I felt like they were all there for me,” he said. “And in a way, they were.”

Lindsey Fox, public relations director for IUDM, said the perception that all of Bloomington comes together for the kids at Riley is quite accurate. Dance Marathon is something that “really gets taken into people’s hearts” because it’s all about helping children. Fox said everyone who helps plan and fund IUDM feels a “strong connection” to the kids at Riley.

The first Dance Marathon was held in 1991 to raise funds for Riley Hospital, specifically its Ryan White Infectious Disease Center, which was created in honor of White, who contracted HIV through a routine blood transfusion and died of AIDS in 1990. All the money raised through IUDM goes to the center, which currently provides inpatient care to almost 800 children.

To date, Fox said IUDM has raised more than $6 million and fully funds the Center not only through the annual 36-hour Dance Marathon, but also by holding 10 to 12 nondancing charity events, such as silent auctions, throughout the year that draw all members of the community: sororities, fraternities, freshman, seniors, businesses, nonprofits and, of course, Riley patients and families.

Sydny Layne, a member of Alpha Xi Delta women’s fraternity, said IUDM is Bloomington’s most popular charity because anyone can get involved, no matter their role in the community or their “campus clique.” She said IUDM’s 36 hours of dancing is one of the only weekends throughout the year when all the students can “put aside the drinking and the partying and just think about the kids.”

Layne became involved with IUDM as a freshman because of an older friend whose little brother was a “Riley kid,” as the hospital’s patients are affectionately known. Layne also said that because she is from out of state, she tries to do all she can to give back to her adopted home.

Stories such as Davis’ and Layne’s are not unique. Most students who are involved with IUDM have deeply personal reasons for their activism. Senior Mike Zaremski is a member of IUDM’s public relations committee, and said that though he has never done the 36 hours of dancing, he still wanted to give his time to the organization specifically because Riley is a children’s hospital.

A few years back, Zaremski’s parents revealed to him that before he was born, he actually had a younger sister who died as a child.

“Because of that, I’ve always had a special feeling for children’s hospitals.”
In all its fundraisers, IUDM strives for inclusivity in the name of Riley – those who can’t dance volunteer in other capacities, and volunteers spend their time reaching out to the community. Davis said that although he is not a great public speaker, he decided to become a permanent participant in IUDM because “if there’s one cause to do it for, it’s Dance Marathon.”

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to help spread awareness.”