Team Iowa Retreat was one for the books!
On Sunday, September 22nd, our collective Team Iowa Dance Marathon community came together in Iowa City for a day of networking, collaboration, and best practice sharing. Across Iowa, we have 14 collegiate Dance Marathon programs, and dozens of High School programs who raise funds for the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital through their year-long, peer-to-peer fundraising efforts. This annual Retreat is an opportunity for all of them to come together, get to meet each other, and learn what other programs are doing well and challenges they may be experiencing so that they can brainstorm solutions.
In total, we had more than 140 people in attendance from most of our collegiate programs and several of our High School programs. In addition to the learning and networking, some of our Center for Advancement Leadership, Sarah Russett and Morgan Shea, came to speak to the students about their impact on the hospital and what the students can gain through their Dance Marathon leadership experience. They also hear from the Ewoldt family about their twin girls, Keely and Kambry, and their journey being born in the NICU at 22 weeks. They closed the day by hearing from the hospital’s new Chief Administrative Officer, Jim Leste, about what excites him about this position at Iowa and the collective impact Dance Marathon has on our hospital.
Overall, it was an inspiring and motivational day for all of us! The energy in the room with all these Dance Marathon leaders was truly unmatched. Thank you to everyone who supported in making this day a success, and thank you to all of our incredible student leaders for the great work you put in all year round.
