Ignite hosted their annual Rodeo event that last Saturday. The event included numerous activities for students such as line dancing, games and food.
Ignite is an IWU organization that exists to raise awareness and funds for Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. Some of their events include Mr. Flame, Flapjack Madness, Christmas Disco and the Rodeo.
Sophomore attendee, Josue Pozos said, “I’m here because I appreciate the cause that Peyton Manning does and also how the school supports the hospital.”
The Rodeo was relocated to Lucky Arena this year, as opposed to the student center location last year, to keep the event more condensed.
“This year we kind of just kept it in the same area so that everybody knows where everything is,” said Kimberly Lopez, a member of Ignite.
Ignite focuses this event heavily on telling the stories of families that have been impacted by Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. Blazer Hour was an activity during the Rodeo where
attendees were able to get in a line for free snacks, tattoos and an autograph from a boy who was served by the hospital.
The boy said that his favorite part of the night was getting candy and going up on the stage.
“My favorite part is when the families are actually able to come out and tell their story and it’s more of a tangible thing that people are able to see instead of just being shown pictures of the children that we sponsor,” Lopez said.
Another popular activity of the Rodeo is line dancing. Students filled the gym floor as instructors, brought in by Ignite, taught these country-themed dances.
Ignite also had merch, ice cream and desserts on sale at the event to raise money for the hospital. At the end of the night, Ignite revealed that they have raised $121,905 over the past 10 years at IWU.
“We’re celebrating 10 years of raising money for pediatric healthcare across the state of Indiana,” Jamie Bryant, Ignite President, said. “The Rodeo symbolizes the end of our traditional fundraising year and is meant to be a celebration of all that we’ve done but also give us hope for the future.”
