Dance Marathon tops last year’s total

This year’s Carmel Dance Marathon raised $129,866.31 for the Ryan White Infectious Disease Center at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. Over 700 students participated in the six-hour event, organized by the student government, that included music, dancing, food and games.

Speakers at the event included hospital administrators and patients from Riley. Students from Indiana University’s Dance Marathon executive committee also came to participate.

Each dancer was required to raise at least $75. Local businesses, such as Qdoba, Max & Erma’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and Coldstone, also held fundraisers in the weeks leading up to the event.

Dance Marathon started three years ago in honor of Ashley Crouse ’02, who died in 2006 in a traffic accident. Crouse was student body president when she was at Carmel and was highly involved in Indiana’s Dance Marathon.