Penn’s Dance Marathon FTK raises more than $36,000 for Riley Children’s Hospital
Posted on April 25, 2019Penn High School’s Dance Marathon FTK (For The Kids) set a goal of exceeding last year’s initial Dance Marathon total of $25,090.16 that was donated to the Riley Children’s Hospital.
The 2019 goal was surpassed by nearly 30 percent, as Penn’s second Dance Marathon FTK raised $36,929.21—that’s an increase of more than $11,000!!! A great accomplishment that the pediatric patients of Riley Children’s Hospital will surely benefit from! Click to see a photo gallery provided by Dance Marathon FTK participants.
“The passion and heart these students displayed as they worked tirelessly over the last year is unequaled,” Dance Marathon FTK Sponsor/Penn instructor Michele Ball said. “As sponsors, Kate O’Brien and I are so proud of these young people!
“In just over two years we have raised just over $62,000!! Our future is bright! Our entire club deserves a huge hug for all the time and passion and dedication they have shown.”
Ball said that Bittersweet Elementary deserves a shout out for allowing Penn’s Dance Marathon FTK Club to help with their Fall Fest and Winter Fest. Penn students face painted, did crafts with the students and played games for donations. Students also collected donations at a football game, a basketball game and other events throughout the year.
Penn’s Dance Marathon FTK also hosted restaurant give-backs almost every month and Penn instructor Dominic Ball organized a Dodgeball tournament as the culminating event in the club’s first DAY OF HOPE. Dance Marathon FTK raised more than $4,000 on the Day of Hope.
In addition, Erik Wilcox and Dance Marathon FTK vice president Maggie Sullivan, organized a highly successful Smash Bros tournament which brought in more than $500.
“Our executive board deserves a huge thank you as they sacrificed hours upon hours to make this an outstanding year,” Ball said. “Our president for the last two years, Olivia Coughlin, has really taken on the leadership role for this club. She has encouraged, cheered on and invigorated the masses when they needed a little extra push. Her dedication never wavered and her positivity is infectious! There are so many students that played an integral part it would be hard to name them all!
Along with Olivia Coughlin and Maggie Sullivan, the Dance Marathon FTK executive board consisted of Andrea Seroczynski, Rachel Wobbe, Morgan Martin, Audrey Page, Morgin Higgins, Matthew Pruitt, Makaila Holt, Lauren Kramer, Kathryn Iappalucci, Sydney Riddle and Annabelle Morton.
“There are no words to describe how inspired I’ve been by witnessing the strength and courage of our Riley families, seeing how we’ve grown as an organization, and seeing the passion my peers and friends have for this cause,” Coughlin said.
Ball said that Penn students Sophia and Sheila Patel and Sid Das deserve a special shoutout as they became members of our Comma Club, raising more than $1,000 each.
The Penn Dance Marathon FTK Riley families are the reason the club continue to raise funds and awareness. Ball said that the organization is lucky to have eight families with it to continue to inspire our students every day. Riley kids are in parenthesis.
The Riley families are:
The Kinney Family (Mikayla)
The Newcomb Family (Emily)
The Holmes Family (Natalie)
The Crawford Family (Alexa and Ellie)
The Stevenson Family (Jessica)
Mr. Bob Yenna (Heather)
The Fleming Family (Lizzy)
Last Modified March 18, 2026