IU Dance Marathon students are giving their time and blood — literally — to help raise awareness for Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health.
During Riley Week, which takes place from Feb. 29 to March 4th, students from various IUDM committees set up tables throughout campus and distributed information about various facets of Riley Hospital, from different units and medical positions to different families whose lives were affected by the hospital and its services.
They also put on a blood drive outside Ballantine Hall on Wednesday.
Maddy Vonderohe, director of hospital relations for Riley, said she hopes Riley week can have a great effect on people in the IU community and students already planning on participating in IUDM.
“Riley Week is really about helping us continue to build our relationship with the hospital and at the same time educating the IU community about all the things that go on inside the hospital,” Vonderohe said. “Everything from research to clinical programming and stuff beyond holistic care that extends beyond the hospital walls.”
The blood drive was an important way for students to make a tangible contribution to the community, Vonderohe said.
“I know lots of blood in drives like that goes to Riley, and we have many community members at IU whose lives were saved by blood transfusions at Riley,” Vonderohe said.
Although IUDM is a well-known event on campus, Vonderohe said she thinks many people who donate don’t really understand what their donations are actually put toward.
“A big problem that we’ve seen is that people will donate because they love the idea of what Riley does but they don’t understand it in full,” Vonderohe said. “So as we kick off fundraising we wanted to educate donors so they could feel more comfortable with what they’re actually doing with their money.”
Jessi Wernsman tabled in the IMU on Wednesday afternoon, sharing information about the hospital and handing out pins, bracelets and tattoos. She said she hoped people who stopped by the table came away with a better understanding of all the things that Riley Hospital offers the major role it plays in the lives of families.
“It’s so inspirational to show people all the things Riley does,” Wernsman said. “I hope they inspire people to join IUDM when the time comes.”
Later today, three families from Bloomington and Ellettsville, Indiana with children who have been treated at Riley will be at tabling sessions to share their stories. Claire Lechleiter, who also tabled in the IMU said she thinks that people will be much more affected by meeting the families and children in person.
“No matter how much you try to explain to people, I don’t think there’s anything that can compete with seeing these people and hearing their stories first-hand,” Lechleiter said.
Hearing the experiences of children who have spent time in Riley Hospital also gives a feel for the quality of care the hospital offers, Vonderohe said.
“Until you hear it from someone who’s actually been there it’s difficult for it to hit home,” Vonderohe said. “But when you hear it from the kids it’s incredible. A lot of them didn’t even realize they were sick. They just thought they were in a special camp or something away from home.”
Anyone is welcome to stop by at the tabling sessions to talk to the children and families. Vonderohe encourages anyone who can to make time to do so, and said that the tabling sessions have already received a lot of positive feedback from students and faculty.
“I’ve been fortunate to sit in on tabling sessions where IU staff with children with who have been patients at Riley, or people from Red Carpet Days, and even people who aren’t currently part of the IU community but were walking by in the IMU have stopped by to talk about what Riley means to them,” Vonderohe said. “It’s really special.”
