St. Ambrose students raise awareness for next year’s dance marathon

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By Barb Arland-Fye

Students from St. Ambrose University in Davenport participate in a preview dance marathon April 20 to raise awareness for a benefit for the University of Iowa Children’s Hospitals.

DAVENPORT — St. Ambrose University’s Kinesiology Club was thrilled with results of its efforts to raise awareness about next year’s dance marathon to benefit University of Iowa Children’s Hospitals.
The April 20 preview event attracted more than 250 students and raised $6,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospitals, said Kinesiology Club President Sara Oberhoffer.  “That’s about twice as much as our goal,” added Oberhoffer, a junior majoring in exercise science. Next year will be the first time St. Ambrose has a dance marathon on campus. “We wanted a kick-off before we had the actual event.”
The preview event lasted four hours with plenty of dancing and the appearances of several families from the Quad-City area who are or had been utilizing University of Iowa Children’s Hospitals.
“We worked a lot with Children’s Miracle Network; they gave us ideas, but told us to make the event our own,” Oberhoffer said.
“In the beginning stages of planning we had very little expectations for our preview event; we simply hoped that whatever we created would be enough to generate an interest on campus,” said Chelsea Harrison, an admissions counselor at St. Ambrose and a faculty advisor for the preview event. “Based off of the numbers of student participation and the amount we raised, I would say we far exceeded any expectations for a preview event!”
As an undergraduate at the University of Iowa, Harrison said she participated in a dance marathon and had such a positive experience that she wanted to be able to provide the same experience and leadership opportunities to students at St. Ambrose.
“This kind of organization is exactly what the Ambrose campus needs! We had over 250 students attend the event, which is incredible, and a promising sign that SAU Dance Marathon will be just as successful, if not more successful, in future years,” Harrison added.


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