Over 1,000 dancers and captains cover the floor of the rec hall in a choppy sea of yellow and white T-shirts. A movie montage bursts forth from stereo screens, infecting the hall with dance fever. When the overall committee is introduced, the crowd stands, cheering like the Big Ten fans they are. No, this isn’t the final of the NCAA basketball tournament; it’s the opening ceremonies at the 30^th annual Pennsylvania State University Dance Marathon, a massive fundraiser that raised over $3.6 million this year for the Four Diamonds Fund.

"Penn State is the Mecca of dance marathons," says Dave Neustadter, Indiana University alum, and the former morale director of Indiana University Dance Marathon 2001. The excitement at Penn State kicks off a weekend all-nighter—dancing for 48 hours straight. Dance marathons keep their participants awake and on their feet for a set number of hours, corralling them onto a gymnasium floor and feeding them every few hours. It’s one part pep rally and two parts concert to entertain and motivate students to keep going for all of the children who can’t.

“Thon,” as it’s affectionately referred to by Penn State, has raised over $16 million dollars for the Four Diamonds Fund since 1973. The money goes to support the care, treatment and research for children with cancer at the Hershey Medical Center. Although the flavor and details of each marathon differ, the long-standing success of Thon sets a model for other universities.

The Cause
When Penn State began the Dance Marathon in 1973, it was the first event of its kind. However, it wasn’t long before DMs began to sprout up all across the country. Jill Stewart, an IU student, started IUDM for Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis in 1991 in honor and memory of her friend, Ryan White. In its third year, IUDM raised over $60,000, and the Children's Miracle Network became a supporter. There are now 74 universities across the United States and Canada with a DM benefiting CMN hospitals. A national organization of children's hospitals, CMN now has a web site, www.cmn.org, offering registration on-line, as well as links to other DM web sites.

CMN lends DMs a planning system and national brand name, but in order to fundraise, donors need to know where their money goes, says Allison Morgan, IU senior and IUDM President. "You're not going to have a dance marathon benefiting Riley Hospital of Indiana in Arizona. People just can't do that."

The Support
In order to set up a DM at your university, there are a couple things that must be considered. The first thing to decide is where the money will go. A cause within the local community is a must. It’s also important to get university backing first, Morgan says. Register with the student activities office as a student group. Talk to university trustees, the president, the student government—anyone who’ll listen. Find sponsors immediately. Sponsors pay for the event so donations can stay donations. "We're able to maintain a low percentage because everything is donated," says Albert Rothman, Penn State senior and THON’s corporate relations chair.

There are ways to finance a DM without the use of sponsors. Taking out a loan or making the cost of dancer registration cover the cost of the event would enable a DM to donate without being in debt, says John Moran, IU junior and vice president of finance for IUDM.

Fundraising efforts for donations can be anything from car washes to phone solicitation to date auctions. "Anything you can do to keep it a year-long event," says Amy Nawrocki, Penn State senior and THON's family relations chair. As a state school, Penn State brings in thousands of dollars by using their satellite campuses to fundraise. Pre-event fundraisers, like a 5-kilometer run, are a proven success on both the IU and Penn State campuses.

The Location
Funding is part of the support needed for a DM, but a good relationship with the university is the only way to succeed. You won’t be able to raise money if you don’t have some place to hold the event. In its first year, Penn State had only 78 dancers. Last year it had 662. The annual increase in dancers mandates that they keep solid footing with the university. "We just started using the rec hall, and every year they give us a little more of it to use," says Sarah Kenders, Penn State senior and THON's panhellenic associate vice president, "It's almost like a trial basis to see if we are respectful."

Most campuses have the equivalent of a rec hall, or a gym building, but it’s important to consider the needs of the event before booking the biggest space on campus, Morgan says. "Figure out how many people you’re going to have. It also needs to be some place accessible by all dancers."

The Committee
IUDM committee members calls themselves a family, and one look at their office proves that point. All 19 executive members share two rooms. A haggard couch sags along one wall, the orange and brown floral print disguising its missing cushions. Pictures wallpaper another side, documenting every memorable or embarrassing moment. Nothing in this family is sacred.

The IUDM bond is typical of such an intense organization. "Time management is key," says Jayme Rubright, Penn State senior and THON overall chair. She estimates her committee spends 30 to 40 hours per week together. Every DM has an executive body, and under this selected governing core is an army of workers.

Morgan suggests finding an organizing committee by looking to friends first. "Use people you know—go to other organizations, find student leaders from other groups," The experience these people share, along with the rapport of friends will make planning the event easier. Kenders says consistency and efficiency give the council or committee a format. "We know every Sunday night at 7 p.m. we have our meeting," Kenders says.

Morgan explains that the reason IUDM calls its council a family is because it works so closely so often. "You see each other more than you actually see your family, and once you're involved with Dance Marathon, chances are you will be involved for life."

The Event
Scott Phelan, Penn State's director of fraternity and sorority life and dance marathon advisor says a first year marathon is all about involvement. "Don't be disappointed by the results. Everything raised goes to a good cause. If you know it's for a good cause and you get other people involved in it, they will continue to be involved.”

"If you get up and running your first year, it's a success," Morgan says. The first year may not be as dazzling as the show at Penn State. There probably won’t be twin video screens or multiple sponsor banners, but there will be dancers, a hospital that needs support, and kids who will live for that weekend every year.

"When we took the tour of Riley [Hospital] at our executive retreat, we went into this room with a little girl who had had heart surgery," Morgan recalls, "She was so tiny and all alone. We didn't want to leave…all 19 of us in that room. We knew that right then we were her family."

Kate Stone is a junior at Indiana University double-majoring in journalism and French, with a minor in art history. She is the Director of Promotions for IU Dance Marathon 2002, and a member of Delta Gamma sorority. Contact stone at khstone@indiana.edu; Morgan at alkmorga@indiana.edu; Moran at jjmoran@indiana.edu; Rubright, at thon02@psu.edu; Kenders at sjk178@psu.edu; Nawrocki at aen119@psu.edu; Phelan, at spp10@psu.edu; Rothman at acr146@psu.edu; or Karban at kkarban@rileymem.org.

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