By Charlotte Murphy, IU Corps Intern
Each year, students in IU Dance Marathon get to meet children at Riley Hospital for Children and make an impact on their lives. IU Dance Marathon is the second-largest student-run philanthropy in the world that has raised more than $53 million in total for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, IN. Dance Marathon was founded at IU in 1991 and every year since, more than 1,200 committee members work year-round to raise money, plan events, and spread awareness of the miracles happening at Riley every day. The IU Dance Marathon main event takes place in the fall, bringing together more than 4,000 IU students who honor and fundraise for the brave Riley kids. 75% of proceeds go to Riley’s Wells Center for Pediatric Research and the remaining 25% goes to clinical expenses at the hospital.
IU Dance Marathon has several different student-run committees, each with its own mission. One of the committees for IUDM is the Hospital Relations (IUDM HR) committee. This year, IUDM HR is led by IU student director Ella Konow. In an interview, Konow explained the core functions of the Hospital Relations committee and its purpose.
“We have two specific volunteer efforts: the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) meals and the Riley Connect program. RMH is when we go [to the RMH in Indianapolis] and we provide about four meals a month. We buy the supplies, cook the meals, and serve them to the families [who are staying there]. Riley Connect is our more hands-on official in-person volunteering committee. We have a group of about 24 students, led by two of the HR chairs, who go through a whole onboarding process by Riley staff so that they can become official Riley Volunteers. A rotating group of four students go every single Sunday throughout the entire year to volunteer for two hours. They go into the library, take a big cart of books, and then go to each room in the hospital to see if the kids want to read with them or check out a book.”
Ella is not the only one who leads Hospital Relations. The Riley Operations (RMH) committee is currently led by Claire Hood and Anna Kantar and the Riley Connect committee is led by Maddie Jeffers and Gracie Brackney.
Hospital Relations’ third core function is broadly defined as “cause connection.” HR teaches everybody who is fundraising about the special programs and staff at Riley. They organize Riley Week and the inspiration tent at the marathon so that participants better understand what services are provided at the hospital and the history behind IUDM.
“We teach everybody who’s fundraising all this money for the organization what [Riley] does beyond just being a hospital. They have so many specific special programs and people who work for them,” Konow said.
When asked why she chose the Hospital Relations committee, Konow gave some meaningful insight.
“I’d never really talked to a [Riley] family one-on-one [before]. IUDM HR is that perfect way of raising money and doing all our [IUDM] events, but then I also get to talk to families who are in the hospital right now.”
It’s not just the families that make Riley special. The staff add to the meaningful experience as well. Konow also spoke about the impact the staff has on Riley: “My favorite people to talk to are the staff members. Getting to talk to the nurses and doctors on the floor every week is a completely different experience.”
Overall, Konow said that her time spent volunteering at the hospital is very fulfilling. “I think it’s exciting to be able to physically put work in there because at the end of the day, all the money goes there and people know how special it is, but we’re not physically making that impact until we’re face to face with them.”
If you are interested in spending time meeting families and making a difference in their lives, consider joining IUDM and the Hospital Relations Committee or any other IUDM committee. Learn more on the IU Dance Marathon website or on their Instagram page (@iudancemarathon).
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