Throughout this year, we will continue to be a light for all families and provide support during their most difficult times. With our commitment to inclusivity and advocacy, we will work to remove systemic barriers within Dance Marathon to unite our community. For Dance Marathon 28, we will build upon our past to create our own future.
We, as a Dance Marathon 28 family, would like to introduce our 2021 campaign: Endless Hope. We asked the Executive Director of Dance Marathon 28, Anna Dodge, to provide insight on what the campaign stands for throughout the Dance Marathon community. She stated, “We came into the year really nervous about what everything was going to be. Will we get people registered? How are we going to raise money? Will COVID be gone? Endless Hope means that our organization and everyone in it is doing absolutely everything that they can for our families. It’s not just the people in Dance Marathon, but our community. Our impact is so far reaching. Regardless of how we show up, we will give that hope to our families, and our families will know that we’re here for them and that we’re supporting them.”
This year, University of Iowa Dance Marathon’s campaign highlights its goal of working together for the kids and their families. Endless Hope means continuing our mission to help as many families as possible and let them know that we are with them through their journey. This past year has been unpredictable and has shown us that anything can happen. Having hope that things will turn out for the better is the best way to stay positive in these unprecedented times. As Dance Marathon 28, we will join the fight against pediatric cancer and have Endless Hope.
Grant Mougin, the Entertainment Chair on the Event Committee, states, "There’s a lot of times where we get put down in the dumps and it’s easier to stay there and have that affect your mentality. Endless Hope is the idea that we’re going to keep pushing through because we’re going to find a way. We’re going to keep looking for the positives like with my dad (who found a cancerous tumor in his head last summer and is now in remission). It could have been easier to spiral down and really let that affect us, but keeping a positive mindset kept him motivated through his treatments and helped him push through to where he is now. Just keeping that positivity even when times are tough is important."
Finally, Grant states, "This year, when things are finally starting to open back up, now is our time to be right there with our Dance Marathon families. We’ve been missing you. We’re here for you. We never left."
By: Hailey Hannan, Public Relations Committee, DM 28
