How Money Was Raised For Dance Marathon

This year, Student Council was able to raise a grand total of $7,371.69 for the Dance Marathon, and for the kids.  This number surpassed the goal, and beat last year’s earnings, as well. This number did not come easy though, and there were many efforts and activities done by students, businesses, families, and staff to get to that amount. One student who played a big role in raising money, Eliza Aleman, explained how she did the Crush for Crush fundraiser, baked her own items for a bake sale, went to restaurant nights, and the Powderpuff game, all as a way to help raise money. Second time leader of DM, Mrs. Mertel, said that the most successful fundraiser this year ended up being Crush for a Crush around Valentine’s Day, by earning $350. She also explained that businesses were so generous in helping out, and many places wanted to help. 

You may be wondering what Dance Marathon is, and what exactly it is raising money for. Mrs. Mertel explains, “DM raises money for the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. The hospital uses the funds for a variety of purposes – to help support families, whose child is being treated there, to purchase new technology for treatments, or, like last year, they built a new, handicap accessible playground.” With this, Eliza said that her favorite part of the experience was, “Going to the family talk at St. Ambrose. It was really empowering, and gave a face and a name to what you were doing this for.”  St. Ambrose also guided Rocky’s students on tips and ideas on how to raise money, and they were also at the dance, and they knew how to help because they have their own, as well. Mrs. Mertel said, “My favorite part is the Big Event. Seeing the kids have fun at the dance, and their excitement when we reveal our fundraising total is just amazing.” Both Eliza and Mrs. Mertel said that the student involvement this year was the biggest obstacle, but in the end, the strong and mighty group pulled it all together, better than ever. Dance Marathon 2022 finished successfully, not only by making the students happy, but saving lives while doing so.