Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2006, Page 20

Description:	mm Kids*mkmWmim ■ h^bfBy Jen WinstonThe idea of a Dance Marathon at Bloomington South wasconjured by interest in Indiana Universitys Marathon in 2005.The Universitys event was the largest grossing fundraiser everheld for Riley Childrens Hospital, making over $600 thousand.While lUs Marathon lasted a whopping 36 hours,Souths dancers, due to legal reasons, were only allowedto tough it out for six. The marathon began with the pomsquad dancing, and after that, the lock-in type event wasinterrupted every 20 minutes, more or less, to discuss thecause for all of the good times and laughter - the kids.Riley families stood atop the stage at the front of the gymand told their stories. While some students may have felt thedesire to pass out or to sit down within the first hour, that wantwas soon turned around. When the Riley children stood up andcourageously told their stories, I really realized why I was here,said junior Cici Lemke.All dancers were entitled to free pizza and breadsticksprovided by a large number of businesses, including Buccetos,Pizza Hut, Avers, Fazolis, Wal-Mart, and Sams Club.Indiana Universitys Dance Marathon team offered a lotof assitance, teaching all participants the line dance universal toall the marathons. All in a\\, the fundraiser was very successful.After Souths Dance Marathon, Riley Hospital became over fourthousand dollars richer, and all the dancers fell fast asleep.(Left) Junior Caitlin VanKooten takes a break tosmile with seniors Natalie Kramer and MollyMcCormick. Dancers enjoyed oldies like Comeon Eileen by DexysMidnight Runners andYou Can Call Me Al byPaul Simon along withvarious popular hits.(Above) SophomoreSamantha Fraiser learns adifferent kind of line dance.Attendees had the optionof learning a dance toa collaboration of manydifferent songs..The Story of Ryan.WhiteIndiana Dance Marathon,the inspiration for Souths own Mini-Marathon, began in honor and inmemory of a 13-year-old named RyanWhite.Ryan White was diagnosed withAIDS which he contracted throughcontaminated blood products he hadbeen given for his hemophilia. Ryansdiagnosis took the country by storm,as no one had associated the HIVvirus with anyone except the malehomosexual population. During hisshort lifetime, Ryan was treated only atRiley, at his request.After Ryans death in 1990, hisfriend Jill Stewart decided that his battlewas not over. She decided the perfectfundraiser for Riley hospital wasa dance marathon to honorRyans sense of livliness. TheMarathons have continuedever since.ISOURCE: Indiana University DanceMarathon,http://www.indiana.edu/~iudmc/WStudent Life
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/7793
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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