On Saturday, March 2nd, hundreds of participants participated in the 23rd annual Jagathon in the Campus Center. The main event lasted from 10am on March 2nd to 12am on March 3rd. For 14 hours, we danced, sang, fundraised, played games, bought merchandise, and listened to Riley stories, but most importantly, we became one team creating more miracles for the kiddos at Riley Hospital for Children.
The Jagathon main event kicked off at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. The first hour consisted of the opening ceremony, including an opening video, pledge, and Proclamation by the Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogestt. The proclamation proclaimed March 2nd as Jagathon day in the city of Indianapolis. The Moral Committee then showcased the 10-minute Morale dance that would be learned throughout the marathon, and Color Wars was also started for the day. Riley kids paraded through the marathon with their Color Captains and participants were able to hear a Riley story from our Riley kiddos Samantha and Miles.
The first fundraising push rounded out the first hour and led us into the second hour of the main event, where participants were able to learn part of the Morale dance, do some Zumba taught by Dr. Rachel Swinford, enjoyed a performance by Xiphos, and watched the Riley Kids Fashion Show. Cydney Bridges, Miss Indiana and Haley Jordan, Miss Indiana USA joined Jagathon at the Main Event by helping with the Fashion Show, as well. We rounded out our second hour by learning more of the Morale dance!
Vice Chancellor, Dr. Weldy, got the third hour of the marathon rolling with a speech. Following Dr. Weldy’s speech, participants were able to enjoy the Lip Sync Battle. Congratulations to all of the Lip Sync participants, but especially Phi Mu for winning the 2024 Jagathon Lip Sync Battle. Riley kiddos, Abigail Akel and Reagan DeLoach, shared their stories with participants to bring the third hour to a close. The fourth hour of the main event was filled by our Run to Riley! Participants started at the Campus Center and ran to Riley Hospital for Children and back. After returning to the Campus Center, runners “made their mark” on Jagathon 2024 by placing a paint mark on our 2024 Jagathon canvas.
After lunch, the fifth hour of our event was jam-packed with fun activities! We started the fifth hour off strong with our second fundraising push of the event where Jagathon and Butler’s Dance Marathon competed to fundraise the most during this push. Following the fundraising push, participants were able to hear from Kara Casavan, Director of Patient Relations at Riley. The Moral Committee then taught participants the third part of the Moral dance. Dr. Roland W. Herzog (Researcher at Riley), Jackie Moeller (Certified Child Life Specialist), and Jennifer Brown (Registered Nurse) polished off our fifth hour by sharing their experience working at Riley. The Moving Company performed followed by the Asian Student Union (ASU). After the performances, participants played Hungry Hungry Hippos and sang karaoke.
2024 VP of Operations
2023 Director of Hospitality
2022 Director of Strategic Communication
2021 Entertainment Committee Member
Favorite Jagathon Memory: My first main event. I was a director for my first in-person main event so it’s a unique experience! Made me want to continue being on the board.
Future Plans: Attending IU’s Physical Therapy school in May
At 7pm, it was time for the color teams to split in half and do different tasks. The first thing that everyone did was enjoy dinner. After a long day full of dancing and fun it was time for people to refuel so they could go back to learning the next part of the morale dance. Morale took the stage twice in the hour to teach the next part of the morale dance to the two separate groups. It was then time for another Riley story told by Hendrix Fox. Hendrix spent the entire hour sharing his story to the different colors teams that were split in half.
At 8pm, it was time for the more serious part of the event. 8 o’clock was Angel Hour. This was when everyone acknowledged all of the families who had Riley kids who are now angels. As all of the participants made their way down to the Campus Center Atrium. Here, they were given a candle that they were told to light up when they felt moved during this hour. One of our Angel families took the stage to share how Riley helped their child so much until the end. Everyone then watched the flower video that showed the Riley kids who are now angels. As you looked through the crowd, the sight of all the lit candles was very emotional.
After a very somber moment, it was time for water pong. Participants ran to the lower level of the campus center to try and beat their friends at this fun game. A little after 9pm, it was time for a snack and another Riley story. Riley Lesh, an Exercise Science student here at IUPUI, took the stage to give her experience of being a Riley kid. After Riley’s story, it was time to learn the next segment of the morale dance. Morale quickly went to the stage to teach a small part of the dance. After morale, it was time for the fourth fundraising push of the day. As the gong rang, participants cheered.
At 11pm, everyone grabbed a pair of headphones for silent disco. At this point in the night, it was hard to keep up the high energy, but every participant was dancing their hearts out. After everyone had turned in their headphones, it was time for the final morale dance. As morale took the stage, participants got ready to perform the long dance one last time. Morale and the participants did an amazing job with the dance!
Around midnight, it was time for Circle of Hope. Everyone gathered in a circle as their miracle brands was cut off in honor of the Riley kids. After this moment, the recap video of what had happened during the past 14 hours of the event played as the Executive Board Members walked on stage with the final reveal number. The air was anxious as the numbers began to flip. People began cheering and crying when it was revealed that Jagathon 2024 had raised a total of $307, 605.24! This is an amazing amount that is going to help create so many miracles.
Jagathon 2024 was an amazing event. This Jagathon will go down in history as one the best main events ever. Thank you to all the hard work of everyone involved. So many miracles will be made from everyone’s hard work. Thank you to everyone who was involved with this amazing event! It truly was one of the best nights ever! - Spencer Creed and Jennah Jones
