Dance Marathon has been a part of Iowa State’s campus for the past 18 years, and this year is no different.

The opening ceremonies will kick off the event at 7 p.m. Friday in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. The first event will end at 7 a.m. The second event will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday and last until 11 p.m.

This is the second year that Iowa State is doing two separate events instead of one continuous 15-hour marathon.

“We switched it to two separate sessions because of capacity reasons,”said  Lauren O’Brien, co-director and senior in marketing. “The Great Hall can only hold 1,000 people and we had 1,500 to 2,000 people registered at the time [last year].”

Because of the relationships the organization had built over time with the Memorial Union, it did not want to switch locations.

Dance Marathon is an annual event that celebrates the year of raising money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Iowa State donates all money that is raised to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

The event involves many different types of options to spend the 12-hour event. The entire Memorial Union is used for this as each major room inside is used for a different purpose, such as a craft room. Smaller conference rooms will also be used as well as hotel rooms.

“We always have some performance going on in the Great Hall,” said Kaitlyn Aldrich, a co-director and senior in civil engineering.

Once the opening ceremony ends, participants have the choice of what they do throughout the session. When there is an hour left, otherwise known as Power Hour, all participants join in an hour of dancing to finish the night.

A Thank You Circle will take place at the end, where everyone who participates will make a large circle throughout the Memorial Union, and the Miracle families, or families of children being treated at the hospital, will walk through and individually thank each person.

When the second event is winding to an end, the entire year’s donation amount is revealed to everyone in the Great Hall.

Donations do not just go to children with cancer. They go to any child who is treated at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

“Probably about 75 percent of donations come from dancers,” Aldrich said. “We also get quite a few donations through our business sponsors, our alumni and high schools that do programs.”

Donations from Student Government and the  Inter-Residence Hall Association go toward funding the event, including paying for entertainment.

Donations this year will go to fund things such as a new operating room, an MRI suite and a waiting room in the newest addition of the hospital. They also fund things such as library books, neonatal equipment, family’s medical bills and parking tickets for the families to park at the hospital.

A total of $3.2 million has been raised during the past 19 years since Iowa State has had the program. Last year, ISU Dance Marathon pledged an additional $2 million for the new hospital.

The co-directors have both been involved since they were freshmen, and this cause has made an impact on each of them.

“You can see immediately the impact that what you’re doing makes,” Aldrich said.

O’Brien agreed and also felt as though an impact is being made.

“It brings together so many different types of people: kids who are treated at the hospital, families who are going through all of these things, students, graduate students, alumni, high schoolers and sponsors,” O’Brien said.

The two directors also believe the organization impacts the community and campus.

“It’s allowing people to be a part of something bigger than themselves,” O’Brien said. “It really puts things into perspective, and I think that’s why so many people want to be involved with the organization.”

Aldrich also believes the event has become a big deal in Ames.

“Dance Marathon is definitely part of the culture of Iowa State, and I think people are starting to recognize that,” Aldrich said.

Jackson Mores, senior in kinesiology and health, has also been working with Dance Marathon since he was a freshman. Mores now serves on the families committee.

“I’ve always had a passion for helping kids,” Mores said. “When I came to Iowa State my fraternity encouraged me to get involved in it and I absolutely loved it.”

Mores said as a part of the families committee, he is partnered with one Miracle child to keep in contact with throughout the year.

“You hang out with [the child] and get to know them a lot better throughout the year,” Mores said. “You become like another kid in their family.”

The families committee also hosted Make Miracles for children involved, similar to ESPN’s Make a Wish organization. With this program, Miracle children were given opportunities to do things such as go to the zoo, take helicopter rides and other fun events.

Families are also very involved in this organizations. A family can become a Miracle family simply by speaking with Iowa State’s Dance Marathon committee.

One family, the Wulfekuhles, have been a part of Iowa State’s Dance Marathon since 2013. Their daughter Reese was born with a spinal cord tumor. She was born in Ames, where the family lives, but was transferred that day to Iowa City to undergo her first surgery.

Reese, now 6 years old, has had four additional surgeries to deal with complications brought on by the tumor.

“Certain organs [of Reese’s] don’t work,” said Allie Wulfekuhle, Reese’s mother. “She goes to Iowa City every six months to see three specialists.”

The Wulfekuhles became a Miracle family in 2012 after they heard about the program through a friend and attended their first Dance Marathon the next January.

“We love Dance Marathon because it’s a great weekend,” Wulfekuhle said. “It’s Reese’s favorite weekend. She loves to meet college students and others involved. Most of all we love the relationships we have with college students. They’re a great support for our family.”

The Wulfekuhles will join 26 other Miracle families this weekend at the event.

To join Dance Marathon next year, a student would have to sign up at dm.stuorg.iastate.edu and register. Next, one would go onto Access Plus and pay a registration fee and next raise $250 before the event to attend. However, there is a program to extend the amount of time to raise the money by March 1. If the person does not raise all of the money, he or she would have to pay out of pocket.