The Indiana University Dance Marathon, commonly known as IU Dance Marathon or IUDM,[1] is a 36-hour dance marathon that takes place every November at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, United States with the purpose of raising both funding and awareness for pediatric care. In 1991, student Jill Stewart started IU Dance Marathon in honor of her friend, Ryan White, who died from AIDS the year before. Since then, IUDM has raised over $50 million for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, IN, including most recently $3,003,837.23 during the 2023 marathon. The 2024 Indiana University Dance Marathon will take place November 15th through November 17th.
Ryan WhiteRiley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, IN
Ryan White
Ryan White's 1990 death was the inspiration for the creation of the Indiana University Dance Marathon in 1991. Thirteen-year-old Ryan White contracted AIDS from contaminated blood transfusions he received for hemophilia. When news of the contraction of AIDS became public, his school district in Kokomo, Indiana banned him from attending classes. Ryan then went on to fight in court which led to many headlines across the country and national celebrities like Michael Jackson and Elton John advocated on his behalf. Michael Jackson and Elton John befriended Ryan and helped to spread his story and awareness of AIDS.
After arduous court battles, Ryan won the right to return to school; but his battle with the community and AIDS had just begun. The White family dealt with adversity on a daily basis. People were not willing to deal with the concept of AIDS and shunned the Whites. They were victims of fear and anger but had an optimistic outlook that eventually things would return to normal. It was not until a bullet was shot into the White home that the family moved to Cicero, Indiana, where they found peace.
Ryan White was one of the biggest advocates of AIDS awareness, appearing at schools and fundraisers across the nation and testified in front of the President's Commission on HIV Epidemic in hopes of changing the public's perception of the disease.
On April 8, 1990, Ryan White died at the age of 18, right before he was to attend Indiana University.[2] His strength and acceptance of disease helped those battling common illnesses continue to fight. Ryan's life is commemorated by the annual Dance Marathon funds and the Ryan White Infectious Disease Center at Riley Hospital.
Ashley Louise Crouse
On Tuesday, April 12, 2005, the Indiana University campus suffered a loss with the death of one of its students, Ashley Louise Crouse. Ashley was the Vice President of Communications for IUDM and a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. On her way home from an executive meeting, Ashley was struck and killed by a drunk driver outside the sorority house in which she lived, leaving behind a legacy of hope and passion that continues to live within each person involved in the organization.[3]
Born and raised in Carmel, Indiana, Ashley's hometown joined with IUDM to create the most successful high school dance marathon in the country. In addition, along with Ryan White, the two are remembered by the thousands of IU students each year during a walk of remembrance each spring.[4]
Riley Hospital for Children
Riley Hospital for Children, the recipient of the proceeds of the dance marathon, is a nationally ranked pediatric hospital located on the Indiana University School of Medicine's campus in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is one of the largest hospitals in the United States and treats over 80 percent of Hoosier children cancer patients.[5] It continues to be among the best in the nation for its innovative research and unparalleled care. For the third year in a row, Riley Hospital has been ranked nationally in all 10 categories by U.S. News & World Report[6] and remains the only nationally ranked children's hospital in the state of Indiana.[7]
The donations support Riley Hospital's mission to not turn away any child regardless of their family's financial status. It has more care-beds than any other children's hospital and treats over 150,000 patients a year.[citation needed] Riley Hospital for children holds Indiana's only children's burn center and dialysis center.[citation needed] It welcomes every type of patient and continues to enhance its cutting-edge care and facilities.
IUDM funded the Ryan White Infectious Disease Center which is housed in the Simon Family Tower, a 10-story, 675,000 sq. ft. inpatient center which opened on January 27, 2011. The infectious disease center is led by the Director and Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Dr. John C. Christenson, MD, along with the Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Dr. Elaine G. Cox, MD. Ryan White's doctor, Dr. Martin B. Kleiman, MD, continues to practice under infectious disease as the Ryan White Professor of Pediatrics.[8]
Current Events
IUDM Through the Years
Year
Amount
Quotes
1991
$10,900.00
"Celebrate life. Dance. Hope."
1992
$23,000.00
"JAM!"
1993
$66,234.46
"Do it for the children."
1994
$96,343.33
"Together we will raise more in '94."
1995
$140,072.46
"Keep the dream alive in '95."
1996
$152,760.00
"Making miracles."
1997
$206,537.20
"Big hearts helping little hands."
1998
$230,565.20
"Living with hope, dancing for smiles."
1999
$315,060.16
"Sharing smiles, living dreams."
2000
$402,324.17
"A decade of chance, a lifetime of hope."
2001
$405,412.17
"Dancing for miracles, reaching for dreams."
2002
$415,412.19
"Believing in the gift of tomorrow."
2003
$403,000.19
"The chance of a lifetime to give a lifetime of chance."
2004
$468,600.19
"A chance of a lifetime to give a lifetime of chance."
2005
$677,415.19
"If you can dream it, you can do it."
2006
$920,386.20
"We dance because we can. We stand for those who can't."
2007
$1,041,197.20
"Inspired by a cure. Touched by a story. Changed for a lifetime."
2008
$1,376,550.23
"Have the heart to dream big and the passion to live bigger."
2009
$1,520,418.21
"Encourage hope. Celebrate life. Dare to dream big."
2010
$1,602,713.20
"Inspired by our past to dance for their future."
2011
$1,801,207.20
"Out of difficulties grow miracles."
2012
$2,125,322.20
"Where there is love, there is life."
2013
$2,622,123.21
"Live for today. Dance for tomorrow."
2014
$3,206,340.22
"Build Tomorrow's Dreams"
2015
$3,880,025.22
"Bringing Legacy to Life"
2016
$4,152,440.23
"United by Passion, Powered by Hope."
2017
$4,203,326.23
"Founded in Family"
2018
$4,187,051.23
"Together We Will"
2019
$4,257,143.23
"Every Moment Matters"
2020
$2,905,188.23
"Built by Legacy, Uniting for Purpose"
2021
$3,090,215.23
"Against Odds, We Rise"
2022
$3,233,968.23
"Rooted in Tradition, Transforming Tomorrow"
2023
$3,003,837.23
"Be the Difference"
2024
$3,058,042.23
"Move With Purpose"
Total
$56,201,131.23
Total raised since 1991
Ryan & Ashley Week
Annually, a week is dedicated to Ryan White and Ashley Louise Crouse and is filled with different events to honor their legacy. Each event showcases the lives they led and shares that they will always be loved and will never be forgotten.
In 2024, Monday represented the start of the week with a viewing of “The Ryan White Story” in Dunn Meadow. Members brought blankets and watched the movie with their committee right as the sun set on a beautiful day in Bloomington.
On Tuesday, committee members had the opportunity to volunteer to honor how giving these two young people were.
During committee meetings, time was devoted to memorializing the two individuals. Stories were read, interviews were watched, and messages were exchanged, leaving every member inspired.
Thursday is the Ryan and Ashley week concert, where bands performed in Dunn Meadow
The culmination of Ryan and Ashley week was the Angels Among Us walk. Here, not only are Ryan and Ashley honored, but every pediatric patient yesterday, today, or tomorrow. The walk beginning at the Arboretum resembles the path Ashley took every day.
Kids Can't Wait Carnival The Kids Can't Wait Carnival is an annual event hosted to foster strong relationships between Riley Buddies—children and young adults supported by Riley Hospital—and the IUDM community. The carnival features various recreational activities, such as bounce houses, water balloon games, and basketball.
The second annual carnival took place on April 14, 2024, at Fee Fields, bringing together families, friends, and IUDM members in a vibrant atmosphere of laughter and camaraderie. The event is coordinated by the Riley Development Committee, which focuses on building connections between Riley families and the IUDM organization.
For The Kicks
An annual event where IUDM partners with the Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer for a night of fun, leading up to the team's home game that night.
Day of Hope
Day of Hope is IUDM’s largest fundraising day of the year. On this day, students make their largest fundraising push in the final weeks before the marathon by utilizing as many resources as possible. Hundreds of members gather in a centralized location on campus, known as the Hype Room, to fundraise together. Alumni are highly engaged on this day through virtual updates and some even host a hype room in Indianapolis. Through social media, face-to-face solicitation, mobile communication, and other fundraising vehicles, IUDM raised $680,288.23 during the 2024 Day of Hope.
Road Rules
Road Rules is a bi-annual canning effort where IUDM committee members form teams of 3-5 on either a Saturday or Sunday morning and are given specific locations within central and southern Indiana, usually consisting of grocery stores, restaurants and walking trails.
Archived Events
FT5K
The IUDM FT5K is a 5K run/walk that occurs the spring before the marathon and is located across from the Indiana University football stadium. Participation is open public-wide and prizes are awarded to the top three finishers. Following the race, entertainment and food are provided, as well as, time to spend with the Riley kids.[9]IUDM Gives Back
Each year, IUDM partners with Indiana University Athletics to host a pre-game tailgate featuring food, music, and games during which Riley children (over 60 in 2013) and their families spend time with IUDM participants. Following these pre-game festivities, the families and IUDM students enjoy the unique opportunity of running across the field immediately before the start of the game. Riley at the Rock provides an opportunity for the students to interact with children that have inspired them to participate in IUDM outside of the marathon.[10]
Fore the Kids Golf Outing
The IUDM Golf Outing is the main summer event and takes place at the River Glen Golf Club in Fishers, IN. Last year, the annual outing raised a record $31,000, surpassing 2012's total of $28,000. Individuals are encouraged to create teams to participate in the tournament in addition to a lunch and silent auction. To kick off the tournament, Riley patients and families are invited to share their story and encourage the golfers during their competition.[11]
Runway Riley
Runway Riley is an annual fashion show co-sponsored by IU Dance Marathon and Phi Mu sorority. Not only does the event showcase the year's newest line of IUDM apparel for the first time to the public, but Riley kids and their families are featured as models of the clothing and merchandise. Immediately after the show, all apparel is available for purchase. Since its introduction in September 2012, Runway Riley has raised almost $30,000 for the kids at Riley Hospital for Children. The Riley kids get to feel like superstars in front of hundreds of cheering attendees.[12]
A Walk to Remember
Each year, around the anniversary of both Ryan White and Ashley Louise Crouse's deaths, hundreds of students gather to walk in memory of the pairs passing. The walk starts at the Kappa Kappa Gamma house, where Crouse was a member, and continues around campus until ending up back at the Kappa house.[13]
The marathon takes place at the Indiana University Tennis Center, located on campus just north of Assembly Hall and Memorial Stadium, from Friday to Sunday one weekend in November. Those volunteering, or dancing, stand for 12, 24, or 36 hours in honor of those who cannot.
Before the event, all dancers participate in Color Wars fall semester long competition between 8 color teams that compete during the months leading up to the marathon and throughout the duration of the 36 hour dance marathon event. Dancer organizations are randomly divided into color teams and work together to earn points for their color by participating in weekly competitions, fundraising, 3 large-scale events, marathon stage games, and marathon participation. The winner of color wars for the year is announced at the marathon just before the raising of the total.
Committee members come together to set up, run the event and inspire others for the duration of the weekend. The marathon starts at 8 PM Friday night with dancers running into the gym to the song, "Eye of the Tiger." The executive council is then introduced and the dancers get to witness the famous IUDM Linedance for the first time. After the opening ceremonies, the teams are split up in a variety of stations around the center, including stations geared toward learning the linedance, hospitality and sports activities.
At certain times all teams and committee members come together to hear artist and speakers perform, participate in activities on stage and listen to Riley stories. Every year, IUDM has many visitors during the duration of the marathon, including IU alumni, faculty and administration, donors, and most importantly, the Riley families. Everyone at the marathon gathers to meet and listen to dozens of Riley children tell their stories. Each Riley kid walks down a red carpet, through the crowd, and up onto the stage, as each participant cheers them onward. During theirs presentations, the room falls silent and everyone uses this moment as a reminder of why they are standing.
As the marathon comes to a conclusion, the presidential address is given and all participants gather to remember those to which they stand for. Finally, the total is raised officially marking the end of the marathon and showing the hard work put in by thousands over the course of the year.
Ryan Wayne White was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after his school barred him from attending classes following a diagnosis of AIDS.
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and its largest campus, with over 40,000 students. Established as the state's seminary in 1820, the name was changed to "Indiana College" in 1829 and to "Indiana University" in 1838.
Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) was a public research university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It was a collaboration between Indiana University and Purdue University that offered undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees from both universities. Administered primarily through Indiana University as a core campus and secondarily through Purdue University as a regional campus, it was Indiana's primary urban research and academic health sciences institution. IUPUI was located in downtown Indianapolis along the White River and Fall Creek.
The Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) is a major, multi-campus medical school located throughout the U.S. state of Indiana and is the graduate medical school of Indiana University. There are nine campuses throughout the state; the principal research, educational, and medical center is located on the campus of Indiana University Indianapolis. With 1,461 MD students, 195 PhD students, and 1,442 residents and fellows in the 2023–24 academic year, IUSM is the largest medical school in the United States. The school offers many joint degree programs including an MD/PhD Medical Scientist Training Program. It has partnerships with Purdue University's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, other Indiana University system schools, and various in-state external institutions. It is the medical school with the largest number of graduates licensed in the United States per a 2018 Federation of State Medical Boards survey with 11,828 licensed physicians.
Herman B Wells, a native of Boone County, Indiana, was the eleventh president of Indiana University Bloomington and its first university chancellor. He was pivotal in the transformation of Indiana University from a small, locally oriented college into a world-class institution of higher learning through expanded enrollment, recruitment of new faculty, construction of new buildings, new program offerings, and campus beautification projects. He remained steadfast in his support of IU's faculty and students, especially in the areas of academic freedom and civil rights. Wells began his career in banking, but served the university in a variety of faculty and administrative capacities during his seventy-year career at IU Bloomington: instructor and assistant professor, department of economics (1930–35; dean and professor of administration, school of business administration ; acting president ; and president. He gave up control in 1962 to become university chancellor ; interim president ; and chairman of the board of the Indiana University Foundation, as well as other leadership roles at the IU Foundation.
Dance marathons are events in which people dance or walk to music for an extended period of time. They started as dance contests in the 1920s and developed into human endurance contests, or exploitative entertainment events during the Great Depression in the 1930s. In the present day, dance marathons are commonly used as fundraisers. These modern marathons are usually 12–24 hours, a far cry from the 1,000-hour marathons of the 1930s.
The Northwestern University Dance Marathon, commonly known as NUDM, is a philanthropic dance marathon held every March at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1975, NUDM is one of the nation's most established and largest entirely student-run philanthropies. NUDM is one of the only annual Dance Marathons in the country to continually change its primary beneficiary. NUDM has raised over $23 million for its beneficiaries in its 50-year history, and involves over 1,000 students participating as dancers and committee members. Since 1997, the Evanston Community Foundation has been NUDM's secondary beneficiary.
The Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health is a nationally ranked freestanding 456-bed, pediatric acute care children's hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is affiliated with the Indiana University School of Medicine. Riley Hospital for Children is a member of the Indiana University Health system, the only children's hospital in the network. The hospital provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–21 throughout Indiana and features an ACS verified level I pediatric trauma center. Its regional pediatric intensive-care unit and neonatal intensive care units serve the entire Midwest region. In addition, Riley has two helipads for rapid transport of emergent pediatric care. Riley Hospital for Children is named for James Whitcomb Riley, a writer and poet who lived in Indianapolis.
Children's Miracle Network Hospitals is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for children's hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. Donations support the health of more than 10 million children each year.
WIUX-LP is a low power student-run college radio station in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. The station is owned by Indiana University Student Broadcasting with the slogan 'Pure Student Radio'. low power FM
The Indiana Daily Student (IDS) is an independent, student-run newspaper published for the community of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, since 1867. The IDS is free and distributed throughout the campus and city.
Indiana University Kokomo is a public university in Kokomo, Indiana. It is a regional campus of Indiana University serving north central Indiana.
John William Ryan was an American academic administrator who most notably served as the President of Indiana University for sixteen years.
Indiana University Health, formerly known as Clarian Health Partners, is a nonprofit healthcare system located in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the largest and most comprehensive healthcare system in Indiana, with 16 hospitals under its IU Health brand and almost 36,000 employees. It has a partnership with the Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM). The IU Health system has a total capacity of 2,696 beds.
East Tennessee Children's Hospital is a private, independent, not-for-profit, 152-bed pediatric medical center in Knoxville, Tennessee. The hospital's primary service area includes 16 counties in East Tennessee, and its secondary service area includes counties in southwest Virginia, southeast Kentucky and western North Carolina.
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
The IUPUI Public Art Collection, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, consists of more than 30 works of sculpture located outdoors on the campus of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. IUPUI is a public shared campus of Indiana University and Purdue University that was created in 1969. More than 30,000 students attend IUPUI today and view the sculptures as they walk, bicycle, and drive around the campus.
The Indiana University Health Proton Therapy Center, formerly known as the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute (MPRI), was the first proton facility in the Midwest. The center was located on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. The IU Health Proton Therapy Center was the only proton therapy center in the U.S. to use a uniform-scanning beam for dose delivery, which decreases undesirable neutron dose to patients. The Center opened in 2004, and ceased operations in 2014.
Frances Ekstam, a native of Des Moines, Iowa, was founder of the physical therapy program at Indiana University School of Medicine.
The Indiana University School of Nursing is an academic college of higher education connected to Indiana University with its main research and educational facilities on the Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis campus and at Indiana University Bloomington. It is known for its nursing research and education, scholarship of teaching and nursing practice, and for its collaborations with IU hospitals and clinical partners. Established in 1914 as the Indiana University Training School for Nurses, it awarded its first nursing diplomas in 1917 and was renamed the IU School of Nursing in 1956. It offers a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree, and two doctoral degrees: Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). The IU nursing school has received multiple research grants from the National Institutes of Health.
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