For almost 20 years, this school has dedicated time and effort to raising awareness and donating money toward the Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health.

Over the weekend, the school conducted its annual Riley Dance Marathon, and sources say it was a success.

Mr. Howard Fogel, Riley dance marathon adviser, said, “It was a great event. (Senior) Nicole (Cerar), (senior) Sarah (Bertrand) and (senior) Carson (Cox) were just amazing. They literally did everything from start to finish.”

Throughout the year, the committee sold raffle tickets, tie-dyed T-shirts, held a car wash, ran a boutique, found vendors and sponsored the dance. In total, they raised $12,797.82 to donate to Riley.

Fogel said, “They really did a remarkable job stepping out of their comfort zones and trying things that people have never done before; I’m just really proud of them. I think that these three girls have taken philanthropy at Cathedral to a whole other level. I hope they become the face of what philanthropy could be at Cathedral High School.”

Senior Sarah Bertrand has been involved in the Riley Dance Marathon committee since her freshman year. She said, “We had almost a hundred kids (at the dance), which is improvement from last year, but it seemed like everyone who was there had a really good time. That was kind of our main goal aside from raising awareness and money. It was really fun.”

Through this organization, both Bertrand and Fogel are motivated to help the children at the hospital.

Bertrand said, “(Riley is very important to me) because I know that all the hard work that we’re doing is going towards a greater cause. Riley teaches us how to make connections outside of school and how to really serve the greater Indianapolis area. I think just the motivation of knowing that all of our hard work is going to a hospital that serves hundreds of thousands of kids who many of us have connections to (is why this is important to me).”

Fogel concluded, “To know that a place like Riley exists is amazing.”