Inspired by an Instagram post by an Oregon State basketball player, Dance Marathon was reignited in 2025, creating community-based charity events on campus at the U. Carly Cosby, founder and executive director of the non-profit, said she’s excited to watch it grow to wider groups of Utah.

“It started with me, and then there were four members,” Cosby said. “Now there’s like 170 registered members, which is really cool and exciting. So I just hope that it continues to grow, and people get excited.”

Organizing the marathon

The original Dance Marathon group was formed in 1991 from Gilmore Girl dance groups, creating the basis of what it has become today. Though there’s not as much dancing involved anymore, the message has stayed consistent. Cosby said that it took several months to get Dance Marathon at the U off the ground.  She noticed programs in other states, like Indiana and Florida, had been ongoing for years, raising millions in funds every year for local hospitals. She wanted something just like that in Utah and knew that the U was the perfect place to start. It became a project that kept her sane during the hard months of being a student. 

“It kind of was just a long process of bringing it here, but if it was up to me, it would have been here all along,” Cosby said.

And after several phone calls, emails, paperwork and being “ghosted” a few times throughout the process, Dance Marathon had become realized.

Events and charity opportunities

Dance Marathon hosts monthly events, fundraising for Primary Children’s Hospital. They’ve had events in the past, including shaving their heads, a pickleball tournament and country swing dance lessons, all with the same mission of promoting a better, healthier future for children with rare diseases. Cosby added that the closeness of the hospital invites so much opportunity that other college campuses don’t get. 

“A lot of schools have their local hospitals seven hours away from them, so it’s a very rare occasion to have miracle kids come down, or to work really closely with the hospital,” she said. “So we also prioritize a lot of little service projects and volunteering opportunities.” Cosby added they’re currently working with the Women’s basketball team to set up a collaboration event for the kids to meet them.

Next month will be a collaboration between Dance Marathon and K-UTE Radio. At a local arts night, viewers can attend and walk through the galleries produced by students at the U and the greater Salt Lake area. There will also be local music performed by bands such as Backyard Fever and all artists will have the opportunity to sell their art, with all proceeds donated to Primary Children’s Hospital. 

“We’ve toyed with the idea of having a Miracle kid art auction, where they get to sell their art and we all bid on it,” Cosby said. “We just have to get the hospital to let us do that.”

What’s up next?

The local arts night will be hosted at the Epicenter on Feb. 6, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Viewers can come and go, accompanied by local music and the campus community. Following this event, Dance Marathon is excited to host the main event on March 28. 13.1 hours of miracles in the Epicenter. There will be music, activities, food and so much more. You can find more about the event and stay up to date on other happenings at Dance Marathon at their socials here.