When the final amount raised for Dance Marathon was announced, the entire room bursted into cheers and tears.
The event raised $344,801.21 for the Riley Hospital, almost $100,000 more than the goal of $250,000. Last year, almost $200,000 was raised.
Genny Hunt, a sophomore elementary education major, is on the Dance Marathon committee. She said seeing the high results was amazing because the group members have been working to achieve their goal all year.
“When the numbers came up, it was honestly the best moment ever,” Hunt said.
She was still hugging her friends and crying five minutes after the numbers were announced.
“Above anything, [Dance Marathon] means hope for the kids and it means hope for us as well,” Hunt said.
Kim Forsythe, a dancer relations committee member, said 1,300 dancers registered for the event last year and they only had about 1,000 dancers at any point during the night.
This year, however, she said there were over 1,200 dancers out of 1,584 at the opening ceremony.
Freshman nursing major Kristen Santucci said standing for 12 hours was the hardest part, but that it was worth it.
“When you think about what they go through, I think I can stand for 12 hours,” Santucci said. “Once it got past six hours it went by pretty fast.”
Serria Thomas, a junior public relations major, said she has done Dance Marathon for two years.
“At the end, it’s so worth it to see the final number and how much money we raised,” Thomas said.
Percy Ford, a sophomore public relations major, said the best part for him was knowing that all of the students were here for the kids.
“Even with all of the aches and pains I have right now — and my back is killing me — it’s all worth it,” Ford said. “The kids make it worth it.”
GALLERY: Check out photos from the entire event
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