By Naomi Hofferber
Within the IMU main ballroom, decorated pillowcases line the walls, each bearing the name of a Dance Marathon child. In the back off the balcony, three quilts hang, bearing the names of the Dancing in Our Hearts children, meaning they have died of cancer.
These are just some of the ways Dance Marathon aims to honor, remember, and represent the over 800 Dance Marathon families. According to Dance Marathon, 232 children have lost their battle to cancer in the 23 years this event has been celebrated.
“Each of our families gets a pillowcase, and every year we hang them up in the ballroom,” Abby Powell, Dance Marathon family relations director said. “A lot of our families save them each year, they’re supposed to be specifically for that child. We have over 800 families, and we always want to make sure each of our families to feel special and remembered, so it’s one of the ways we can make sure that happens.”
Each year, a representative or a UI student makes the pillowcase, and the design is specific to each child’s interests. Christie Crossman, the Dance Marathon hospital director, said that the goal of the pillowcases is to make each child feel special.
“It’s important to us that every kid feels that love and they all know that all of us are behind them, so every single one of them has their name on the wall, and they can say ‘that’s me, everyone is dancing for me,’ ” she said.
The Dancing in Our Hearts quilts hanging in the back of the ballroom were made to remember all the children who have passed away.
“It’s really special at the back of our ballroom, always there for kids to look up at because those are the kids that we’re especially dancing for, because they can’t dance themselves,” Powell said.
Tonya Campbell, whose son Bryce passed away from T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma, non-Hodgkin’s, said that having Bryce’s name up there is an important way to remember him.
“It’s nice to know his name has been added somewhere and it will always be read by people when they come here because this event is for survivors and those who didn’t survive,” Campbell said. “I’d rather he wasn’t [on] that list, but it is something he’s permanently a part of. Every parent wants their child not to be forgotten.”