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Decades ago, a Dance Marathon was an event where the last couple
standing won a prize. That all changed in 1973 when the Interfraternity
Council began a Dance Marathon at Penn State University. By 1977
it had a set length (48 hours) and was an annual benefit for the
Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State's Hershey Medical Center. Today
the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon raises over $2 million
annually.
Children's Miracle Network first heard of Dance Marathon when
Indiana University raised more than $60,000 in only their third
event for the Ryan White Infectious Diseases Fund. This fund was
established by the Indiana University Dance Marathon Council (IUDMC)
at Riley Hospital for Children, a CMN hospital in Indianapolis.
Thanks to the help of students at Indiana and Penn State, and
many schools since then, CMN's Dance Marathon program was born.
In 1995, the first year of the program, 4 schools raised $142,000
for kids treated at CMN hospitals. The next year, 10 schools participated
and raised over $300,000. In 1997, 18 schools held Dance Marathons
and raised more than $600,000. There are now dozens of schools
and tens of thousands of students from coast to coast participating.
CMN Dance Marathons are held at campuses of all sizes.
What does the future hold for Dance Marathon? The more schools
that participate, the more we can do to help local hospitalized
kids. If you want more information about getting your entire campus
involved in making a major difference in the lives of local kids,
keep reading through this site or click more info. Dance Marathon
is a proven program that is growing as more schools join us each
year. JOIN THE TEAM!
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