Project Two: Interview
Contact Information
Lindsay Ritenbaugh
Development Associate, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals
UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital
Office: 352.627.5036 | Cell: 813.679.1433
1329 SW 16th St, Suite 3150, PO Box 100386, Gainesville, FL 32608
http://giving.ufhealth.org
RITENL@shands.ufl.edu
1. How did you become involved with Dance Marathon?
When Lindsay Ritenbaugh began grad school at the University of Florida in 2011, and while she didn’t participate or advise the group formally, she worked with many fraternity/sorority and student government leaders who were also involved in DM during her time as a graduate assistant in the Department of Student Activities and Involvement. Ritenbaugh could tell immediately that this DM involvement and leadership for them meant more to them than other roles on campus, and she became inspired by their dedication to the hospital and families it served. She was a faithful donor and supporter for the students she advised in the other organizations, and made sure to attend the opening and closing ceremonies.
When Ritenbaugh graduated in 2013, she moved to Chicago and began volunteering as the Morale advisor for DemonTHON, DePaul University’s miracle network dance marathon. When the overall advisor moved schools, she continued to advise DemonTHON executive committee for three years. I became deeply connected to one of the miracle families in the Chicagoland area, and they served as a second family to her while she lived far away from her family in Florida. Spending time and better understanding Mia’s resilience through chemotherapy for an inoperable brain tumor helped Ritenbaugh to better understand the impact that Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals has on the patients and families it benefits directly through dance marathon. With their support and dedication, DemonTHON was able to raise a cumulative $1,000,000 in their first five years on campus!
2. What kinds of experience and preparation helped you most in this area of work?
Ritenbaugh thinks the fact that she had previous experience advising a dance marathon on the university side helped tremendously. She had also worked as a sorority leadership development consultant and elementary school teacher prior to grad school, and these helped to prepare her for public speaking, interpersonal skills, customer service, and compassion required in this role.
3. What made you decide to work with Children’s Miracle Network?
It was the perfect shift for Ritenbaugh to seek employment with a non-profit she was so deeply connected to as a volunteer. While she appreciated and grew during her time advising DemonTHON and being connected to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, these experiences were not formally connected to her job description. She worked in the Office of Student Involvement at DePaul University, but found her passions aligned far more with her volunteer activities with dance marathon outside of normal business hours. When this job became available at UF Health Shands in the summer of 2016, it was a no-brainer for her to apply. She knew it would be the perfect opportunity for her next career trajectory and a way to combine her skills from previous occupations and her cause connection to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals through dance marathon.
4. Was there training you had to go through or background you needed to have in order to take this position?
The application did not require a master’s degree, but it did help to set her apart from other candidates in the pool. The job did require at least one year of DM advising experience and the ability to work with a diverse audience (from miracle families to donors to hospital CEOs). She is able to continue her professional education through peer-to-peer fundraising and development conferences, webinars and training through the national CMN office, and the Florida Fundraising Essentials cohort at the University of Florida’s office of advancement.
5. Do you think most people typically have a history of being involved with DM in high school/college when entering this profession?
“Certainly!” She believes before you apply to work for a profession such as Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, it is integral to be connected to the cause. Ritenbaugh remembers one of her interview questions was about telling the panel what CMN meant to her. Without her prior understanding of the services, research, and support CMN Hospitals are able to provide the communities who need it most, she does not think she would have been able to effectively answer the [interview] question.
6. Do you have a most memorable experience with DM and/or at Shands, if so do you mind sharing it?
“Yes! I started at CMN in the beginning of October, and had the opportunity to meet the teams from UF, FSU, FAU, and UCF at the Shands retreat. Just six weeks later, both UF and FSU exceeded all of my expectations during their respective push days. UF had a goal of raising $262,000 in 26.2 hours, and they completely blew it out of the water and raised $422,557.77! The very next day, Florida Statement brought in an incredible $240,769.60, crushing their goal as well! This was an empowering moment for me, since DemonTHON’s most recent push day had resulted in $48,312.99, and their highest yearlong total was $274,887.77. I knew I was joining a CMN with three top ten fundraising programs nationally, but seeing over $663,000 collected in 48 hours was breathtaking. Knowing the lifesaving equipment that will be purchased for the kids at Shands and the transformative research that will be conducted at our respective College of Medicines brought literal tears to my eyes. It was at that moment where I realized that together we can do more for the kids at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital and that DM brings together even the biggest of rivals for a shared cause.”
The community I am going to be focusing the most on is the Children’s Miracle Network, so…
7. What do you think is the most effective way(s) community members of the Children’s Miracle Network communicate within the community and outside of it?
“Great question! I think CMN’s national office and our local collegiate and high school dance marathon programs do an impeccable job with social media outreach and through their hyperlocal storytelling. Since most of our fundraising comes in $1 at a time from friends and family, social media and hyperlocal storytelling helps to bring awareness to the greater community who is not yet familiar with DM or CMN.”
8. When raising awareness for the CMN, whether during DM or in general, is there a certain audience the community wants to try to reach?
“Another great question! I think CMN could actually increase its reach in our local CMN Hospitals among doctors and nurses. Even though DM students are super aware of CMN and its services, you would be surprised how many doctors and nurses either have never heard of CMN or do not fully understand all that we are able to provide within the hospital.”