One of IU’s favorite days of the year is right around the corner: Day of Hope, and it’s just one week out.

IU is in the final stages of preparing for its seventh annual Day of Hope, a fundraising event held roughly about two months before the largest fundraiser for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis—Dance Marathon—which will take place on November 15-17th.

Members and volunteers of IUDM will be waking up bright and early, starting their 24 hour endeavor at Lake Monroe, where they will watch the sunrise and represent their committees.

With 18 different committees working to secure donors, they all share one goal: raising money for Riley kids… and trying to beat last year’s goal of $603,511.23.

After a long days spent– they will get the ultimate prize of finding out how much money they raised for the kids.

IU students and former Riley kids shared their journeys with IUDM and upcoming plans for this year’s Day of Hope.

Hearing from IUDM participants Erika England, Grace Brenner, and Meredith Waymire, you can just feel their excitement and understand how meaningful Day of Hope is to them.

Erika England is a cancer survivor who underwent six rounds of chemo therapy from a form of cancer in the back of her eye, also known as the retina. She spent 13 years in and out of follow up care in Riley.

She firsthand represents the impact that IUDM and Day of Hope have on Riley kids– and now she’s able to give back to the hospital the same way they gave to her.

There are hundreds of former Riley kids like Erika at IU, helping raise money for the place that saved their lives.

Day of Hope is nothing short of a day full of festivities, love, and shedding light on the kids at Riley.

 

The Indiana University Dance Marathon started in 1991, and since then, IU has raised over 50 million dollars for care at Riley.

A major part of this fundraising comes from Day of Hope, which will be held on September 19th.

Becoming a member for IUDM is easy. All you need to do is go to iudm.org and click “Register” at the top right corner.

You can also visit their instagram page to learn more about what it means to be a member for Dance Marathon and participating in the annual Day of Hope.

Dance Marathon takes place November 15-17th, and will be fundraising everyday until then.