I wanted to wait until Sunday to blog this week because I knew I would be able to talk about my most recent experience with volunteering if I did. This weekend was PUDM. For those of you who don't know what that is it stands for Purdue University Dance Marathon. It's held every year to raise money for Riley Children's Hospital. I just wanted to share my experience through my blog since it is relevant to the blog's topic.
We had to go to the armory at 5:30 on Saturday. I'm going to be honest and say that I was not looking forward to being on my feet for 18 hours. And once we got there I still really wasn't motivated. But once the Riley kids came in and shared their stories, I was more than happy to stand for that long. Their stories were so inspiring and it was so crazy hearing some of the things these kids have to go through at such a young age. Even crazier is how strong they are. In fact I danced like crazy and participated in all of the games and activities provided for the dancers. It was just like a big party with everyone dancing and having fun.
After the first 14 hours, however, the urge to sit down was almost unbearable. But the kids kept me inspired plus every dancer had a wristband with the name and age of a kid from Riley on it. Anytime I really thought I was going to give up and sit down, I just looked at my wristband and told myself that Jess L., age 7 from Riley Hospital really needs me. That always kept me going. That and knowing that some of the kids at Riley don't have the ability to stand at all. It was truly and inspirational experience and we raised over $300,000 dollars for the kids. I was so proud of everyone involved and I can't wait to do it again next year!
I agree, I heard that this was such a great experience. I personally think that this was for such a great cause, and the amount of money that it raised will really make an impact on these children's lives. These kids are so unfortunate and it is truly very sad, it is such a nice thing to do to raise this much money to help them out. And the way this money was raised was such a cool way to raise it. Having people dance for eighteen hours straight is very tough and challenging indeed, but to know that in the end they will all be helping an underprivileged kid is such a great motivator to keep dancing. I really want to participate in this event next year because of how cool I think it is. I really would want to dance to help a child out because it is such a simple way to make such a huge impact on someone' life.
ReplyDeleteThat's very inspiring and impressive. I wish I can have a similar experience. I mean I can't really dance, but I'd learn how to if it's for a good cause. I bet you learned a lot from all of those stories. Every time I think I have difficult times, i remember there are people out there that suffer from deseases or don't have enough to get college education, and I feel blessed and lucky and I try to share what I have with other people. Lots of people are selfish, but that's just because they need to prove something to themselves or to live up to society's expectations. i was hanging out with these two columbian guy this weekend, and they kept bragging about how much their LV'S wallets cost, and then this guy was like my watch costs 10 grand, and my jaw just dropped. I never want to be like that. I mean I do want to be rich, and buy nice stuff, but i see money as a tool rather than the end or the goal. This class helped me in understanding that I have a moral duty to help other people and give back to the community that I live in.
ReplyDeleteYeah one of my friends was involved in this, and I was soo iffy about it. I mean, standing/dancing for 18 hours?! That sounded so insane! I couldn't imagine being awake all that time...of course that just shows how I've never pulled an all-nighter. In the end though, she survived it and never regretted those 18 hours. Also the day after, when we were eating at Earhart, I was in a line for the chinese food. There was a guy ahead of me who I noticed had the bracelet with one of the names of the kids from the Riley Hospital. I thought, "Oh, that's interesting, he participated in the dance marathon too," but then I saw that his right leg was in a cast. It boggled my mind! He would go through 18 hours of standing for these kids, even though his leg was injured? That was really amazing to see, and it changed my perspective on the purpose of this whole dance marathon.
ReplyDeleteI think it is awesome that you did this. It sounds like a ton of fun and I definitely want to try and get involved with it next year! Did the kids stay the whole time and watch you all dance or did they leave? Eighteen hours is kind of a long time to sit and watch people dance like crazy haha. I’m sure they loved seeing a bunch of college kids getting together just for them. I remember how much I used to look up to older kids when I was little. I am glad to see that you survived the eighteen hours and didn’t have any horrible experiences. I thought it was funny when you said you got tired when you hit about fourteen hours. I feel like that would be the exact time when I would start to hit a wall. It sounds like a good time and maybe I’ll see you next year. (:
ReplyDeleteEmily,
ReplyDeleteIt really was a ton of fun, I had an amazing time doing PUDM! Some of the kids stayed for as long as they could but only one of them made it for the full 18 hours! She didn't stand the whole time (which I really don't blame her) but she stayed and I think that was really inspiring considering the fact that some of the college kids left early. The kids had a great time with the older people. We played games and took pictures and obviously danced with them. The Riley kids also put on a talent show and it was so cute to see them get their energy for their acts from all of the Purdue students cheering for them in the crowd. I would highly recommend PUDM. It's not the easiest thing I've ever done, but it most certainly is one of the most fulfilling things.
I did PUDM also! I was super excited about it at first but once it was actually time to go I was like oh no I cannot stand for 18 hours this should be good. But once the activities got started that changes pretty fast. The first few hours seemed to go kind of slow but after that I wasn’t sure where the time went. There was usually plenty to keep me busy. Always, dancing, watching dancing and eating! Then of course the Riley children that were there. They really do have such amazing and inspiring stories to share. Those hit me the hardest, when they came and spoke I knew sitting down wasn’t even a possibility. Afterwards I went and grabbed some food got a shower and went straight to bed. I got a full nights sleep before waking up to finish my homework. My legs hurt pretty bad but it was a very rewarding experience!
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