Why We Dance
The University of Louisville's raiseRED Dance Marathon exists to bring hope and support to children and families battling pediatric cancer and blood disorders. As a Miracle Network Dance Marathon, raiseRED empowers students, doctors, and staff to make a tangible difference in the lives of those affected.
Our mission goes beyond fundraising; it's about creating a network of care and compassion that extends year-round, offering vital resources and a sense of solidarity.
Our efforts are celebrated at our annual 12-hour dance marathon at UofL, which will take place Feb. 21, 2026. Last year, raiseRED raised over $533,000, as we celebrated our 12th annual dance marathon.
Impact
Gifts to raiseRED are equally split between patient needs at Norton Children’s Cancer Institute and research conducted at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
RaiseRED is fortunate to be able to support patients and families at NCCI at all points of their journey from diagnosis, to treatment, and beyond. In the past we have provided critical funding to support the hiring of clinical staff, including a social worker, and bringing in a facility dog. In addition, raiseRED funds a snack cart and a variety of patient needs to support their treatment days and appointments.
Funds designated for research support pediatric hematology and oncology doctors and researchers in their innovative research to make strides towards finding effective therapies leading to cures for patients. Current initiatives raiseRED helps fund include technology to develop a blood-based biomarker of disease remanence or recurrence in pediatric solid tumors and brain tumors and growing the pipeline of models for the study of novel therapies in the lab.
RaiseRED thanks you for your support in changing kids' health to change the future!
$471,888.95, because kids can’t wait! Thank you to our dancers, donors, families, sponsors, leadership, advisors, and supporters Because of you, change is out there!

TODAY'S THE DAY! 🎉 It is our 2026 raiseRED Dance Marathon! Every dollar donated is truly helping us change kids' health to change the future.
We'll be dancing, connecting, and celebrating until 10 p.m. tonight when we do our last dance and reveal the fundraising total from our efforts over the past year.
Don't miss your chance to be a part of it.
1. Make your gift now. Every dollar counts and supports Norton Children's Cancer Institute and the University of Louisville's School of Medicine.
2. Tune in to our live stream videos for open ceremony (10-11 a.m.), community celebration (2:20-3:20 p.m.), and closing ceremony (9:15-10 p.m.) on our website.
3. Spread the word by sharing this page with your network to help increase our impact.
Thanks to your support, change is out there.

Thanks to everyone who supported raiseRED Dance Marathon during last week's Commonwealth Cup! Along with with the University of Kentucky's DanceBlue and Western Kentucky University's Dance Big Red, all three Kentucky dance marathon programs raised a total of $159,928 to change kids' health and change the future.
We are appreciative of our student dancers and our amazing donors for their generous support. The $54,224 raised by raiseRED last week will go directly to the University of Louisville's School of Medicine and Norton Children's Cancer Institute.
We look forward to increasing our impact over the next week as we approach our 13th annual raiseRED Dance Marathon on Saturday, Feb. 21.
Because of you, change is out there.

Thank you for supporting raiseRED Dance Marathon during our 2025 Week of Hope. Throughout the week, we raised over $27,000 for Norton Children's Cancer Institute and the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
Join the change. Hope for change. Live the change. Be the change.
214 days ago by Amanda James
