Last year, Purdue University Dance Marathon became the youngest ever Dance Marathon to raise over $1 million and the Greek community had a lot to do with that. Everyone involved, not just Greeks, was part of history and made a huge impact in the lives of children at Riley Hospitals across the nation. Purdue Greeks make up a huge chunk of the fundraising effort for the marathon every year, and here's why you should tough it out the 18 hours for the kids, this November.

PUDM brings Greeks together. This November will be my fourth marathon since coming to Purdue, and each year I always make new friends. Some of my closest friends at Purdue were made through PUDM. I challenge you to find another event that Purdue puts on where you can find this many Greeks in the same place for 18 hours straight. The opportunities to meet new people are endless. For the freshmen, it has long since been a tradition for the pledge classes in most fraternities and sororities to participate in the marathon, which will be great for meeting the rest of 2014 pledge classes. PUDM is also a perfect opportunity to make memories with your pledge class and other Purdue Greeks that don't involve partying.

PUDM needs Greeks. The Greek community is the backbone of the fundraising efforts at PUDM. This is because fraternities and sororities are good at getting behind a cause and putting a lot of man and woman power into it. If every chapter on campus registers a team of 20 dancers, and everyone raises their $150 minimum, that will account for over $180,000. Greeks hold so much power when it comes to philanthropic causes because there are so many of us and we have the passion. It shows, every year, when Greeks raise more money for charity than any other student organization on campus.

Making it through the 18 hours. If you were at the marathon last year, and made it all the way through to the reveal, you know what I am talking about. None of us will ever forget the sensation when we saw the final total on the projector screen: $1,00,471.03. From the beginning, PUDM's goal for 2013 was to hit that million dollar mark, and we cleared it. If I hadn't made those couple of phone calls on the morning of the reveal, during our final push for the million, we would have missed the mark by only a couple of bucks. I think I speak for everyone when I say that margin made everyone realize how important every penny of every donation really is. It made us realize that just one person, just one phone call, just one donation can make all the difference in the world.

You could be that difference this year. Go to pudm.org, make a team for your house and start recruiting, or join your chapter's team if someone has already made it. Registration ends Oct. 31 and the marathon will take place Nov. 22 and Nov. 23. See you then.