Dance Marathon is neither dance nor marathon; it is a celebration of life. (It’s also a fundraiser.)
Iowa State Dance Marathon has been helping children with life threatening illnesses for 23 years, giving financial and emotional support to hundreds of families across Iowa. All of the money raised through our event is given directly to University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital through Children’s Miracle Network. Here are a few examples to where our fundraising efforts support:
- Library materials
- Patient support “comfort kits”–parking and food vouchers for family members during extended stays
- Music therapy equipment
- Infant CPR training kits
- Surgery teaching model
- Diversion tools
- Zaky positioning tool in NICU–a parental simulation tool to stimulate development in premature infants
- Video laryngoscope for PICU
- MRI vision distraction tools
- Continual improvement in recreational therapy
- Funding the building of the new University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital
- Hemodynamics program for the NICU

At ISU we celebrate Dance Marathon Weekend in January. Dancers stay on their feet for 15 hours to symbolize our support for the families who spend countless hours in hospital waiting rooms. We listen to music, play games, hang out with the kids we support, and even do a bit of dancing. Dance Marathon is for the kids, and at Iowa State, that’s always our focus. ISU Dance Marathon is a 365 day commitment to raising money for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital; with that comes the yearly celebration of our hard work during Dance Marathon’s Big Event. After a dancer raises $250, they get to come to the party in January. In 2019, we raised $380,281.22 for the kids. Since its beginning, Dance Marathon has raised a total of $4.4 million for the hospital in Iowa City.
For more information on the national Dance Marathon organization, check out www.dancemarathon.com.