Benefit Health System Raises Funding for Leukemia Research with a 24-Hour Dance-a-Thon

Cedar Rapids, IA - Benefit Health System, the leading provider of healthcare services in Cedar Rapids, IA, hosted its tenth annual Dance-a-Thon over the weekend, raising $102,124.51 in the fight against Leukemia. The proceeds from the event benefited the Childhood Leukemia Foundation.

Attendees participated in a 24-hour dance-a-thon from 11am on Saturday, August 4th to 11 pm on Sunday, August 5th to help raise funding for research and development of a cure.

The Dance-a-Thon was organized Benefit Health nurses in the pediatrics department who heard about a similar event in California raising a quarter of a million dollars. “We didn’t quite meet the $250,000 mark but I could not be prouder of the dance-a-thon, just seeing all those people dancing for a cure, and $100,000 is nothing to turn your nose up at,” said Allie Whitman, one of the nurses on the committee for the fundraiser.

The event included costumes, hours of dancing, and inspiring stories from people and families affected by Leukemia. One such speaker was Lexie Roth’s father, Jake, who addressed attendees. "Lexie would have loved to see you all out here," Roth told the dancers, remarking that Benefit Health's event and its participants, "showed people you don’t have to wait for the worst, you can fight, you can try, you can dance."