Last year at Indiana University’s Dance Marathon, a student philanthropy event that raises money for the Children’s Miracle Network, a child who was paralyzed from the neck down was having a blast.

The child looked at his mother and said, “Mom, I want to dance.” One year later, after numerous doctor visits and hours of physical therapy, the child’s wish came true — he was able to stand and join students for the final dance of the event.

It’s stories like those that made Alex Ross, Chicago freshman and executive director of KU Dance Marathon, want to get involved with the organization. In his first year at the University, Ross has organized the University’s first Dance Marathon, which will take place April 18 at the Ambler Student Recreation and Fitness Center.

The event itself features a 12-hour fundraiser in which students, faculty and community members pay a $5 fee to dance, win prizes, eat food, listen to live music, play sports and video games, and spend time with families from local children’s hospitals.

The program is 100 percent student-run and last year, more than 100 universities across the nation hosted Dance Marathons and together raised more than $5.5 million, according to Ross. Each university’s proceeds benefited local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in their respective areas.

David Littman, Chicago sophomore and KUDM finance director, said the KU Student Senate and several local businesses were covering all the events’ expenses.

The money KU Dance Marathon raises will go directly to the KU Pediatric Center and Children’s Mercy hospitals and clinics in the Kansas City area.

“Not a penny is taken out,” Ross said. “One hundred percent of your donations stay local.”

Ross was introduced to Dance Marathon after his sister, who was director of Vanderbilt University’s marathon, took him to the event during his senior year of high school. Though apprehensive at first, Ross said his experience at Vanderbilt influenced him greatly.

“I went to her marathon and saw the kids from the hospital, and I saw what it did for them and what it meant to them,” he said. “Seeing the tears from the kids and the families completely changed my mind.”

When Ross realized the University didn’t have its own Dance Marathon, he contacted Aaron Quisenberry, associate director for the Student Involvement Leadership Center, about starting a KU chapter.

KUDM, which consists of more than 100 University students, is spreading the word about the upcoming event and is raising money for the Children’s Miracle Network.

Students may have noticed the phrase “Ask Weston,” chalked throughout campus. The slogan is part of a KUDM ad campaign aimed at getting more students involved in the event.

According to the Children’s Miracle Network, Weston Funk was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia when he was 8 years old. He was treated at the Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., where he received a bone marrow transplant and is now a healthy 11-year-old boy.

Funk is the face of KUDM. He will be in attendance at the marathon along with several other families that benefit from local children’s hospitals.

“As soon as you put a face with a name, you can see a child who has received these services from this great organization, and it’s kind of hard not to want to be a part of it,” Colleen Drazen, KUDM staff advisor, said.

Drazen was involved with Dance Marathon during her college years at Purdue University.

In addition to the “Ask Weston” campaign, KUDM is raising money through local and national donations and has created several community projects to benefit the cause. The group hosted a mini-marathon at Lawrence High School during the weekend and plans to hold a three-on-three basketball tournament in March. Chili’s Grill and Bar is also helping the cause by donating 10 percent of its weekly Tuesday night profits to KUDM. The group has raised more than $5,500 and hopes to raise thousands more, but raising funds isn’t its only goal.

“The money doesn’t even really matter this year because we believe that if in these first three years we’re able to get a strong enough base of people who continue to want to do it, we can establish a tradition, and the money will follow,” Ross said.

Drazen commented on the effect she hopes KUDM will have on the University and the Lawrence community.

“You’re just going through life, and it doesn’t ever hit you that you could be fighting a bigger battle,” she said. “These children are so young, and some of them might not have the opportunity to go to college. If we can help just one kid live a little bit longer so they can enjoy just half of what so many college students take for granted, I think this world would be a better place.”

— — Edited by Casey Miles