Getting Anxious for Rockin’ For Riley? We Are Too!

This is it! The weekend is finally approaching for the third annual Kirkwood’s Rockin’ For Riley! You will NOT want to miss any of it this year.  We’ve done some serious promo (Check out our incredible flash mob video below) and now the time has come to CELEBRATE.  There will be a battle of the bands competition throughout the day with a new iPod Nano Giveaway, Hot dog eating contest, dunk tank, carnival games, a chance to meet some truly inspiring Riley Families and SO MUCH MORE!  We want to see everyone out enjoying the weekend and supporting IUDM and Riley Hospital for Children April 9th from 1-10pm.

The line up for the day:

1pm: Citriphonic

2pm: The Main Squeeze

3pm: Jester Kings

4pm: IUDM Idol Finalists Casey Angst, Mack Sterr, and Matt Tatum

5pm: Crescent Ulmer

5:30pm: Hot Dog Eating Contest!

6pm: The Pharos

7pm: Sure Thing

8pm: Brice Fox & Dan Weber

9pm: House Block Party spun by DJ Bizerkey!

Leave a post below and let us know what you are most excited for!

We can only hope we will all be lucky enough to hear a sneak peak of the new Brice Fox and Dan Weber song –>Check it out

 

Thanks to all of the businesses and organizations that are contributing to make this event a HUGE success: Cassady Electrical, Naughty Dogs, Famous Franks, Campus Candy, Glowfest, IUSA, Bruster’s, Kilroy’s on Kirkwood, and of course Riley Hospital for Children!

Kirkwood’s Rockin’ For Riley

Come check out IUDM’s 3rd Annual Kirkwood Rockin’ for Riley!

Who: Everyone in the Bloomington area. Free and open to the public!

Where: Kirkwood Ave. between Indiana and Dunn.

When: April 9th 1-10pm

Why: To raise money and awareness for IUDM and Riley Hospital for Children!

Featuring live music all day from:

Citriphonic, Sure Thing, Jester Kings, David Campbell Trio, Crescent Ulmer, The Pharos, Main Squeeze, Brice Fox & Dan Weber, and a closing block party with music by DJ Bizerkey!!!

This is an event you don’t want to miss. Bring your friends, your family, your dog, EVERYONE, and come enjoy a great day of music and fun!

Here is a great sneak peek at some of the incredible music you can come hear for FREE!

 

1.6 Million FTK!!!!!

IUDM’s 20th annual dance marathon raised a record $1.6 million FTK!  Thank you so much to everyone who donated their time and money to make this wonderful event possible.  Miracles happen everyday and this event is proof of that!

FTK, RW, ALC,

-IUDM 2010

Seven Hours Left to Stand for Those Who Can’t

At this point we’ve all been here for 29 hours and I know at this point we’re all starting to get delirious and wonder why the heck we raised money to stand for 36 hours!

I’ll tell you why we did it, for the kids who can’t stand.

I was listening to Stacie tell her Riley story and her words hit home; how would you feel if you couldn’t stand for one hour? If you were stuck in a hospital room all day, everyday, for days, weeks, and months on end? You would be more than willing to raise the money to stand for 10 minutes! Like others, my nephew spent the first six months of his life in a hospital; he could not stand for himself, so I stood for him. We’ve been given an opportunity to show how much we care for those children who aren’t so lucky. You don’t have to have a personal story or a personal connection to Riley Hospital, but by sitting and doing nothing you are wasting the opportunity to show your compassion and love for others.

Take a look at your wrist band, visit the inspiration tent, and listen to the Riley stories. These children all went through a time when they could not stand, so stand for them. These children all went through a time when they could not dance, so dance for them. And make these last 7 hours better than the previous 29!

-Amber M

Almost done

I honestly wish that I could turn around and begin this experience all over again. I have never been more happy with a decision than joining IUDM this year. It will easily be the greatest thing I remember about my college career. I look back and hit myself for not becoming involved earlier, and now it is almost over. I thank every single person here for helping me through this entire thing, you have all inspired me to continue my involvement with not only Riley but other organizations. I wish everyone the best in these last 8 hours and beyond. Let us all meet back on the dance floor for one amazing rave!

I’ve been up for 34 hrs and I feel great!

I’ve been up for 34 hours and I feel great!  I’ve been linedancing, playing with the kids, and having fun with high schoolers.  Everything this year has been so much fun!  The talent show was awesome this year.  The kids put so much preparation into their acts and it really made for a good show.  It was so much fun taking the high schoolers on a scavenger hunt around the HPER!  They were really enthusiastic and loved interacting with the dancers and the children.  I’m sad that there isn’t a lot of time left in the marathon, as it’s my last IUDM, but it’s been a great ride.  I’ll leave you with a few inspirational words of wisdom:

“If you tell someone they can’t do something, you’d be surprised how much the small things really matter.” – Jeanie White speaking on Ryan’s accomplishments

-Nicole

Why They Are Here

Hey everyone, this is James from Marathon Relations checking in. The Riley Kid talent show just finished a little more than an hour ago, and let me just say it was amazing. These kids were so excited to be on stage in front of everyone, and, after hearing their stories, it truly is inspiring to see these kids excited showing their talents. It goes with out saying that these kids having been looking forward to this weekend more than any of us dancers, committee members, and DGR’s ever could be. They truly come here to see all of us dancing for them.

Keep watching the webcast at www.iudm.org and FTK!

James

Over “the hump”

Well IUDM is cruising steadily along and we have passed over “the hump”.  So far my marathon has consisted of learning the line dance, leading university tours, and, of course, blog postings!  Watching this blog grow over the past couple of weeks has been amazing and I’m excited about the potential it has.  I can’t believe we’re halfway done with IUDM 2010.  The time has been flying by and I want to cherish every last second we have left in this gym.  The high school marathon totals will be revealed in about 30 minutes, and hopefully they’ll be an indicator of another record breaking year for IUDM!

Looking forward to the other half,

-John

R.W.

This year, every DMer had the exceptional opportunity to hear one of the most inspirational women in our generation speak. Jeanne White is a saint on earth, in my opinion. As the mother of Ryan White, the brave individual to whom this marathon is dedicated, she has endured and shared more than I could ever imagine in my lifetime. Her story of struggle, pain, acceptance and hope have brought tears to the eyes of countless individuals over the past 20 years of IU Dance Marathon. She continues to spread the legacy of Ryan as we enter a new decade of tribute to our courageous hero. Let’s remember why we are dancing and who we are helping as we enter the second half of the marathon.

FTK RW

-Meredith

18, Long, Gratifying Hours…

I sit–yes, sadly, I said sit!, here next to Security in the hallway by the computing center. I have been up for 31 hours at this point, and i have 18 left to go. I am absolutely loving the pain and joy, and dancing, and fun that is had at every Dance Marathon.

“From the outside looking in, you can never understand it, and from the inside looking out, you can never explain it.” Remembering that mORALe quote from 2005, I ask myself. Why am I putting my body through this strain? Better yet, why is it that I know that I will pull through the next 18 hours? Because, although it’s painful, every time I want to go back to the hotel, some dancer will come up to me and tell me that I’m an inspiration, and then I know that I can’t leave the gym with a clean conscience.

Breathe in. Breathe out. After being awake for 31 hours, I’m at that point of delierium. That beautiful point in time where I have to tell my eyes to focus, so that I’m not seeing double.

So once again…why do I dance? I dance because I am able to be on my feet for 36 hours. I dance for Ashley. I dance for Ryan. I dance for my Mom. I dance through my pain because everyone else is. And I will continue to dance until there is no longer a need for our dance marathon. When there are no sick children.

Thank you for being involved with Dance Marathon, whatever capacity that may be. Even if that is donating $5. Or visiting a Dancer. Or raising awareness by reading this blog.

Thank you to my Kappa Delta girls, for being amazing hosts for me, and my Spevent-ers, especially Jason, for becoming my greatest friends.

For the kids, ALC, RW, & Mary,

Mikey Lee