In 1991, students at Indiana University founded Dance Marathon in the memory of Ryan White, a close friend who was set to go to the university that year and passed away from AIDS/HIV complications following a bad blood transfusion. The program now spans North America, benefiting hundreds of hospitals and countless kids. Dance Marathons have become a tradition on campus and in the community. Each event is entirely student run and all donate 100% of the funds raised directly to their local Children's Miracle Network Hospital. In 2016 alone, university dance marathons raised more than $32.4 million.

Dance Marathon is a movement involving college and high school students at more than 300 schools across North America, all raising money for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in their community. Students at the University of Iowa Dance Marathon, a Miracle Network Dance Marathon, raise money for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, right across the river. These students spend a year learning invaluable leadership and life skills while raising funds and interacting with children’s hospital patients and families. The year culminates with a 24-hour long event where the students stay on their feet through dancing, games and entertainment in celebration of the total amount raised that year. 

At UIDM, our mission is to create and sustain special projects to provide emotion and financial support for pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant patients and their families treated at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, our very own Miracle Network Hospital.