U.P. Students Dance for Needy Children's Health Care
By Josette M. Kloker
A University Park dance marathon
to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund was
a symbol that people really do care about
other people, according to Sherri
Carruthers of Columbia.
For 48 hours, more than 1000 feet
danced non-stop, while another 1000
provided support to help them keep the
beat
The 12th annual marathon, held
Feb. 17, was sponsored by the
Interfraternity Council (IFC) . at the
University Park campus.
"I have a special bond with the Penn
State students who dance," said
Carruthers, whose nine-year -old daughter
Sabrina was diagnosed with leukemia
five years ago.
"They are pouring their hearts out
to help Sabrina and other children receive
the best care possible," she said. "I
think of those college students as my
own children."
The students endured physical and
emotional stress to benefit The Four
Diamonds Fund. Established by the
university's board of trustees in 1973,
the fund helps needy families pay for
medical care at The Milton S. Hershey
Medical Center, Penn State's university
hospital.
Corporate advertiser to
address students
Ross Markwardt, Director of
Corporate Advertising and Public
!Relations Panning of AT&T, will
lecture at Penn State Harrisburg on
March 22, 1989, under the auspices of
`-the Ambassador Program of the
Advertising Educational Foundation.
The Ambassador Program sends
high-level, seasoned advertising or
marketing executives, like Markwardt, to
colleges and universities across the
country. The program aims to open up
a dialogue with students and faculty
about the advertising process, how
advertising fits into the economic and
social structure of America, and the
issues surrounding advertising.
Markwardt's program will include a
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Since 1977, the marathon has raised
more than $l.B million, amounting to
65 percent of the fund's operating
budget.
This year alone, the marathon raised
$456,617.90, reportedly making it the
largest and most successful student-run
philanthropic effort in the country.
Terri Timtishin of Sinking Spring,
whose five-year-old daughter Sara was
also diagnosed with leukemia, said the
fund provided much more than financial
support.
"Sara was a happy, normal three
and-a-half-year-old child who one day had
a fever. I took her to the doctor, and the
next thing I knew she was being
diagnosed with leukemia," she said.
"I was in shock," Timtishin said. "I
could not understand how this could
happen to a healthy child."
The Four Diamonds Fund provided a
nurse practitioner, child life specialist
and social worker that were instrumental
in her child's care.
Carruthers said The Four Diamonds
Fund's financial support was also
critical, given the suddenness of her
daughter's illness.
One day, Sabrina was ice skating,
Carruthers "slid; The next She began to
detailed presentation to a general
audience explaining the role adver,.
playtAtt. - today's soc visitsietyvisits - to .
classrooms to discuss advertising as it
applies to particular disciplines, and,
informid setifons with students and
faculty to answer questions about the
advertising industry.
The Advertising Educational
Foundation is a nonprofit organization
supported by agencies, media companies
and advertisers, and is dedicated to
building a better understanding and
greater appreciation of the
socioeconomic role of advertising in our
lives.
Markwardt is Director of Corporate
Advertising and Public Relations
planning for AT&T in New York.
Capital Times staff will be
meeting on Monday, March
13 at 2:00 p.m. in W-337.
Bring your story ideas!
run a fever, and by the third, she had lost
her appetite and developed black circles
under her eyes.
"No one plans for an illness like
this to afflict their child," Carruthers
said.
Both she and her husband were self
employed with no medical insurance.
"My family would be in a financial
bind, if not for The Four Diamonds
Fund's help," she said. "I cannot express
how much that meant."
Since the majority of money for the
fund is raised through the dance
marathon, both families took their
children to University Park, where they,
along with hundreds of students,
provided support for the dancers. This
support included everything from
spritzing water in the dancers' faces to
giving foot massages.
"It is touching to see these students
stay awake for children they don't even
know," said Ms. Carruthers. "I just
want to hug them and tell them how
much I appreciate what they are doing
for my daughter and others."
Timtishin said, "I think it is helpful
for the children to be at the marathon to
remind the students of how important
the event really is."
"It helped to see the children because
'SM6kele,ss Tobacco can be
Hazardous to Your Health
from Pa. Denial Health Aiwa
It causes addiction, gum disease,
tooth abrasion and decay, heart disease
and oral cancer. Yet more than 12
million Americans use it, with increased
usage among teenagers and young adults.
Smokeless tobacco--it will be linked to
29,000 cases of oral cancer this year---
one of every three of these people will
die. This means that nearly 10,000
people will die each year from one of the
most preventable of diseases—oral cancer.
According to the Pennsylvania
Dental Association (PDA), smokeless
tobacco users have four times the risk of
developing oral cancer than do non
smokers. Long-term users of snuff have
a 50 times greater risk of developing
cancers of the lower lip area and gums
than do non-users.
Studies have shown a marked
increase in use among male adolescents
and young adult males, with more than
half starting the habit by age 13. The
most popular form of smokeless tobacco
in this age group is snuff, powdered
tobacco held for long periods of time
between the lower lip and gum.
A report of the Surgeon General's
Advisor Committee on the Health
Consequences of Using Smokeless
Tobacco has determined that "the excess
risk of cancer of the cheek and gum may
reach nearly fifty-fold among long-term
snuff users."
Frequently, the only cure for oral
cancer is disfiguring surgery, a
frightening option.
Oral cancer isn't the only reason to
I could see why I should keep going,
even though I could barely move," said
Jessica Brown, a student dancer. "When
I think about it, 48 hours of suffering is
nothing compared to what the children
are going through."
Of the 544 dancers who began the
two-day endeavor, only 37 did not
complete it. The remaining 507
students defined their own forms of
dancing. Whether it was line dances,
exercises or jumping rope, they kept
moving. When it seemed like they
could no longer move, smiles from
Sabrina's and Sara's faces seemed to keep
them moving.
"With all the depressing stories I
hear on the news, it is comforting to
know there are still people, like those
Penn State students, who want to
genuinely help others, with no thought
of anything in return but the satisfaction
of helping the children," Carruthers said.
According to Catherine Hales,
associate director of development at Penn
State's university hospital, student
participation is not limited to University
Park. In fact, students at all campuses
are encouraged to participate. For more
information about next year's marathon,
call 531-8497.
Warning:
avoid smokeless tobacco, says the PDA.
Increased risk of heart disease, tooth
decay or loss, gum disease, heart attacks,
strokes, and kidney disease is the result
of smokeless tobacco use. During
February's 40th observance of National
Children's Dental Health Month, focus
on these dangers of smokeless tobacco
has greatly increased.
Early warning signs of oral cancer
in smokeless tobacco users include:
* mouth swelling
* a lump on the neck, inside the
mouth or near the ear
* facial or lip sore that bleeds or
won't heal
* a whitish patch on the soft tissue
of your mouth (called leukoplakia; 7
percent of these patches will be
cancerous.
The PDA warns parents to be alert
to signs of smokeless tobacco use in
their children. Bad breath and stained
teeth are the two most obvious
indications of smokeless tobacco use. If
parents suspect their children's
involvement with snuff or another form
of smokeless tobacco, they should
immediately schedule an appointment
with the child's dentist. A dentist will
be able to spot any early signs of
prec.ancemus or cancerous conditions.
Smokeless tobacco is not a safe
alternative to smoking. National
Children's Dental Health Month is a
time to stress the benefits of good oral
health with Pennsylvania's children.
Alerting them to the dangers of
smokeless tobacco is one way to ensure
healthy smiles for our children.