On November 22, Seymour High School set a new record for fundraising with Dance Marathon. After months of fundraising campaigns and a successful dance event, SHS raised a total of $32,866.25 for Riley Children’s Hospital.

Working alongside Indiana University for the fifth year, Seymour has put on Dance Marathon annually since 2014. In the 11 years of Dance Marathon at SHS, over $200,000 total has been raised to help children in need.

Many efforts were made to raise the record setting money amount, including the traditional cookie sale and parking spot painting. In addition, the Seymour school district encouraged students of all ages and schools to bring in coins for a penny war. SHS sophomore Max Reinhart raised $1,265 through DonorDrive, the app used for individual fundraising and donations to support Dance Marathon.

During the buildup to Dance Marathon, a planned fundraiser was to continuously play Rick Astley’s viral 80s hit “Never Gonna Give You Up” over the school intercom during any non-class time until Dance Marathon reached $2,025. Unfortunately on the first day of the campaign, an incident occurred in which safety alarms were triggered in the school instead of the song. The school was able to quickly adapt and cancel the planned “rickrolling,” while still supporting the Dance Marathon cause.

Dance Marathon co-presidents Addyson Castetter and Amber Ault both reflected positively on their experience with the organization. Amber claimed “I have loved being involved as much as I can within Dance Marathon. It’s all about having fun and standing up all night for the kids who can’t. There is so much work put into the sponsorships and finding new ways to inspire members to raise more money, and yet it is all worth it to see the total at the end.” Addyson added “For me, being a part of Dance Marathon has truly changed my life, I’ve grown as a leader significantly, and being able to raise money for children in need is greatly motivating. Making a difference has always been a large goal in my life, and through Dance Marathon I feel I have been able to make a difference in the lives at Riley.”