2009 Indiana University Dance Marathon

The 2009 Indiana University Dance Marathon was a huge success! IUDM is the nation’s second largest student-run philanthropy. At Dance Marathon, dancers spend 36 hours on their feet without sleep. IUDM benefits the Ryan White Infectious Disease Center at Riley’s Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. Learning and performing a ten-minute line dance is the focus of the marathon.  The dance consists of a medley of choreographed songs.   The dancers spend the majority of their time learning the complex line dance and at the end of the marathon perform it for everyone.  The dancers also spend their time hanging out with Riley kids and socializing to pass the time. 

This year, 22 members of Delta Upsilon participated as dancers, and 7 more worked on different committees for the past year organizing the marathon. Numerous others helped out in various ways, and members of Delta Upsilon raised over $15,000 to contribute to the $1,520,418.21 raised in total. “I do it because I really like to see the Riley families and hear their stories. It is really inspirational,” says member of the Recruitment committee, Brandon Baum. Baum, like many of the others involved with Dance Marathon, plans on working hard over the next year to ensure the success of the 2010 marathon. “Not only is IUDM an opportunity to help those in need, but it is an opportunity to bond with other students at Indiana University as well as brothers of Delta Upsilon,” says Vice President of Public Relations and member of the IUDM Public Relations committee Drew Giovannoli.