On Saturday the Memorial Union will be filled with people sporting one dominant color: teal.

Approximately 1,500 people are signed up to attend this year’s “15 Hours, 15 Years, Kickin’ It for the Kids” Iowa State Dance Marathon event. Nearly 30 Miracle Families are also signed up to attend.

“At Dance Marathon there will be lots of activities for people to do,” said Jody Feipel, senior in kinesiology and health and families co-director of DM. “We’ll have board games, ‘Minute to Win It’ and lots of family features. Of course there’s going to be dancing and each team will meet each miracle kid and learn their stories. There will also be a talent show that the Miracle Kids can do.”

According to their website, “Iowa State Dance Marathon has been helping children with life threatening illnesses for 15 years, giving financial and emotional support to hundreds of families across Iowa. All of the money raised through our event is given directly to University of Iowa Children’s Hospital through Children’s Miracle Network.”

Dance Marathon is not a one day event as it may seem. Dance Marathon members and Miracle Families are constantly doing activities throughout the year to help prepare for the big event in January.

“We have three or four family events throughout the year,” said Caitlin Hagen, senior in kinesiology and health and families co-director. “In the Veishea parade we have the Miracle Kids ride on the fire truck, they get to participate in Greek Trick or Treat, and last summer Dance Marathon took them to an Iowa Cubs game. We also invited them to one of our football games last fall. In September we had Teal Wheels, which was a bike ride through Ames. Then there’s Miracle Week during the fall, which is just a way to show our appreciation.”

ISU DM also does fundraising events throughout the year, starting with each member raising $250 in order to attend the big DM event in January. In 2011, ISU DM raised over $264,000.

At this year’s Dance Marathon, Jamison Arends, senior in supply chain management and co-president of ISU DM, said people can expect “lots of energy, fantastic family stories and to get to see what the money we raise goes to. It’s a really nice way to give back, and what’s great about this event is we get to spend it with the individuals we’re helping.”

In order to commemorate the 15th anniversary, Arends says a lot of planning has gone into the whole year to promote the anniversary.

“We’ve taken everything up a notch,” Arends said. “This year is a special year. A lot of planning has gone into not only the bigger details but really the nitty gritty. We’ve done a lot of stuff with the branding and signage and the themes are really going to flow. We’re also highlighting the past 14 years in our welcome video.”

ISU DM continues to make an impact on families of children with medical deficiencies. Since its beginning, Dance Marathon has raised a total of $1.5 million for University of Iowa Children’s Hospital, according to their website.

“We went to an executive council conference in March at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital,” Feipel said. “We got to see a patient library that was funded by the money we raised. They had the walls painted teal for Dance Marathon, and it was really cool because now our money is not only benefiting the kids with cancer, it’s also benefiting all the patients in the hospital. We also got to see a simulator baby our donations funded. It’s used as a teaching tool for the doctors, and it will definitely help now and in the future. We’ve also funded parking passes and meal vouchers for the families of kids in the hospital with cancer. For people who have to be at the hospital for days and weeks, parking can get ridiculously expensive so parking passes really lessen the burden for them.”

Check in will begin after 7 a.m. with the event starting at 9 a.m.