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By: Ayaan Abbasi
From March 18th-22nd, IU Dance Marathon hosted its annual Riley Week, this year centered around the theme of Miracle Makers: The Heart and Passion Found at Riley. This week celebrates Riley Hospital for Children by showcasing the staff that work there and educating all of IUDM about this special place.
Ella Konow, the Director of Hospital Relations, said that Riley Week allows everyone raising money for the hospital to learn “so much more about what they do and all the amazing programs and people our money and dedication goes to.”
The week began with Doc Talk, a panel that included two child life specialists, an educational liaison, and a pediatric nurse who currently works at the hospital. They discussed their experience and how IUDM directly benefits the hospital. Each panelist pointed out the rewarding and challenging parts of their jobs, along with showing the important impact of a donation on the hospital.
Next was IUDM’s annual Trivia Night which featured various questions about topics like IU Dance Marathon, Riley Hospital for Children, and IU history. Each IUDM committee had the chance to steal and answer questions with IUDM’s Entertainment committee winning the Jeopardy-style event.
Riley Week culminated in a baseball game and tailgate featuring members of IUDM and Riley families gathering together to play games, eat pizza and cheer on IU. Before the game began, all of the Riley families got to go out on the field to get recognized with Carson Murphy, a Riley buddy, getting to throw the first pitch.
Rylie Koopman, the Outreach chair on the Hospital Relations committee, said that what makes her passionate about this week was the chance “to highlight staff at Riley because they truly make miracles in the lives of patients and families.”
