Student Blog- Libby Rieman “18K Day”

I had a revelation tonight. I’ve always known I dance for something bigger, for something more than myself, but tonight when we raised $18,000 in one day and then broke $100,000, it hit me. I was writing a letter to my parents and I had this moment and I just knew why it was all worth it.
“DM is so much more than the money we raise. It is the look on the miracle child’s face when they laugh & live & play & sing. It is a group of students coming together to be a part of something bigger than all of us. It is a group filled with the Hope of God and doing His work. We stand for 24 hours because these kids fight 24/7.”
This is what I wrote to them. To the people who raised me, who taught me right from wrong and how to love with my whole heart. And that’s just it. I had a great childhood. I laughed & lived & played & sang. I did it all. I was blessed with a great home and a wonderful family. But these children, these miracles, they didn’t have it as easy as I did. They have had to endure long hospital stays, countless pokes and surgeries and so much more. And their parents, well they had to deal with it too. With the medical bills, and the stays at the hospital, and the heartbreak of having a sick child.
I dance because I get to experience the joy of life with these miracles. I dance because there is a child in a room at Helen DeVos holding on for life. I dance because these children, all children, are worth so much more then we will ever know. I dance so Libby and Ella can sing together. I dance so Riley-Jo can dance like no one is watching. I dance so BJ can take his annual selfie. I dance so Emerald can go ice skating. I dance so Hannah and Logan can be in a musical together. I dance so these children can live. I dance because frankly, it’s the least I can do.