Even with the inability to meet and talk in person, Dance Marathon has continued virtually over zoom for the 2020-2021 school year. 

“The zoom meetings are different than in person because we can’t really do anything hands-on, and we can’t really see all of the club members face to face, but they work,” Jacob Roth ‘21 said.

Earlier this year Dance Marathon talked with the University of Iowa Dance Marathon to discuss and receive guidance on which activities they should undergo moving forward. Dance Marathons main event and additionally their main source of income -a mini version of the University Of Iowa’s dance marathon- has been cancelled due to lack of social distancing.

“It’s disappointing, but we have already gotten a great start to the club this year that I think we can still make a big impact even though we’ll be doing most fundraising and most events virtually,” Said Roth.

Despite the mini dance marathons cancelation, the club has brainstormed various ideas to raise money for the club. So far this year they have hosted a cross country fundraiser receiving a total of around $3,000 in funds and are currently planning a pumpkin carving contest. The club also hopes to host a big event as a substitute for the mini dance marathon sometime in February or March with a date to be determined.

“We still have to come up with more fundraisers to do this year because our big event can’t be in person, so we really don’t know what a virtual dance marathon would look like yet,” Roth said. 

This year, the overall goal for Dance Marathon is to build the club up, fund raise and raise awareness for University of Iowa pediatric children battling cancer.

“I think that club members really gain a sense of community, and a sense of leadership when we [help] kids fighting pediatric cancer,” Roth said. “It makes us feel like we’re contributing to something even bigger than ourselves.”