The men of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and the women of Phi Mu sorority raised about $5,000 for Riley Children's Hospital in their annual dance marathon Friday night.
Five families under Riley's care started the evening by sharing their stories of sickness, recovery and hope.
"Earlier in the week one of the boys showed us around the cancer ward at Riley's. It was very inspirational to see that and to have him here tonight," sophomore Phi Mu member Sarah Keesling said. "The kids didn't want to focus on their illnesses for long. They came to show us that they are strong and can still have fun."
The event began at 8 p.m. Friday in Irving Gym and was scheduled to last until 10 a.m. Saturday. Chi Omega sorority was the last team dancing at 7:30 a.m. making it the trophy winner.
The winners won a variety of prizes from free books for their fall semester to free tattoos and piercings.
Other teams participating were the two-year reigning champs Alpha Chi Omega as well as FIJI, Alpha Omericon Phi, Sigma Kappa and one independent team.
Each team paid $50 to participate and could have up to eight members. Teams were required to have at least one team member dancing at all times to not be disqualified.
"This year's turnout is much better than last year's and hopefully will be even bigger next year," SAE junior Brandon Wood said.
Teams danced to the music of local band Naked Spatula Monkeys and Indiana University's battle of the bands winner Extra Blue Kind.
This is the second year in a row that the two have held the Dance Marathon, but the first in collaboration with Riley's.
During last week, students collected money from sponsors and at the Scramble Light. Sponsors could donate $50 and receive a promotion sign on the lawn of the SAE house on Riverside Avenue. WLBC and College Network donated more than $500 making them the official sponsors of the event.
"My favorite part of holding this is helping those in need and dancing with all the teams," SAE junior Brian Heim said.
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