Iowa State Dance Marathon has been helping children with life threatening illnesses for 18 years, providing financial and emotional support to hundreds of families across Iowa. All of the money raised is given directly to University of Iowa Children’s Hospital through Children’s Miracle Network. For the first time this year, Iowa State Dance Marathon was split into two twelve-hour shifts from 7 PM Friday to 7 AM Saturday and 11 AM to 11 PM on Saturday. At this event, the participants (dancers) chose to attend their specific shift and then stood for 12 hours to symbolize support for the families who spend countless hours in hospital waiting rooms. Participants of the event play games with the kids and their families and even do a little bit of dancing!

Dance Marathon holds a special place in the hearts of Iowa Gamma Phi Delts. The event, Iowa State’s largest and most successful student-run philanthropy event on campus, was started 18 years ago by an ISU Phi Delta Theta member. Since its inception, an Iowa Gamma Phi has been in the General Co-Director role for more than 10 of the Dance Marathons. This year, brother Austin Javellana served as the General Co-Director for the event.

This past Friday and Saturday, Iowa Gamma once again had a great presence at Dance Marathon 2015. During the event, many of the Phi Delta Theta committee members got little to no sleep over the course of 38 hours. Although tired, they were vital in the event’s success. Iowa State Dance Marathon 2015 raised over $444,000, with Iowa Gamma raising $15,382!

This year the chapter had 10 active members on the executive team and committees. The following were on Exec: Austin Javellana (General Co-Director), Greg Hunt (Finance Director), Thomas McKenney (Families Co-Director), and Ben Carlson (Recruitment Co-Director). On Recruitment Committee: Thomas Woodruff, Corey O’Brien, and Patrick Hepner. As well as Nick Hinkle – Dance Marathon Corps, Jake DeHaai – Business Relations, and Jackson Mores – Families Committee.