Junior Christine Adams taped herself to the Sample Gates to raise money for IU Dance Marathon on Thursday afternoon. She was one of many students who raised money for IUDM's Day of Hope, which occurred from midnight to midnight Sept. 27 to 28.
IUDM’s Day of Hope raised $497,328.23 this year.
Junior Kelsey Lowe, public relations director, said the Day of Hope has a special place in her heart.
“I love Day of Hope because that was the first time that I truly felt connected to the organization last year,” Lowe said.
Day of Hope is IUDM's biggest fundraising push all year. From 8 a.m. to midnight Sept. 27, committee members are in the Indiana Memorial Union fundraising. They get donations through social media messages, phone calls and sale of merchandise.
The premise for the Day of Hope came from the idea that IUDM can raise $1 for every child treated at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health in Indianapolis during 2016, Day of Hope's inaugural year.
Every year, they change the monetary goal to fit that year’s number of patients. In 2017, they raised approximately $480,000, exceeding the goal of $300,000, Lowe said.
“The entire premise is the symbolism behind having $1 for every kid treated at that hospital,” Lowe said. “We want to give hope to those kids.”
Senior Peyton Allan, vice president of finances, said another reason the Day of Hope was created was to help raise awareness.
“The Day of Hope started in 2016, and was created really to spread awareness and bring back the cause connection for IUDM,” Allan said. “To get away from the idea that IUDM is just numbers.”
On Sept. 28, Riley Hospital for Children is celebrating $50,000,000 in donations from Dance Marathons in Indiana, Allan said.
“Something that’s really cool is that IUDM was the first-ever Dance Marathon in the nation, but we raised 32 of that 50,000,000,” Allan said.
The feeling of family also helps students join the organization and stay.
Senior Nick Kersting said coming to IU from Illinois left him without a community, but IUDM provided for him.
Kersting loves the Day of Hope because you can feel the organization come together and sacrifice commitments and class time to help people, he said.
“I was looking for a community and to do something bigger than myself,” Kersting said.
Junior Annie Sung said the Day of Hope is important to her because it’s one of the days that she feels the true sincerity of the organization. She said joining Dance Marathon at her high school, Floyd Central High School, changed every aspect of her life.
Sung comes back every year because participating in IUDM gives her a deep sense of appreciation and warmth, she said.
Allan said if anyone is even remotely interested, they should stop by the hype room, situated in the Dogwood Room, and check it out for themselves.
“Just stop by the hype room for 30 minutes and you’ll understand it,” Allan said. “It’s a completely contagious environment.”
The Day of Hope hype is indescribable, and the feeling she gets seeing hundreds of people in one room dedicated to the same goal is unimaginable, Lowe said.
“Being able to see hundreds of people in one room, all doing the same thing, just getting so excited about breaking records about how much money we can raise in 24 hours, it’s unlike anything,” Lowe said.
