“Going to Daytona Beach.”
Steve Barber
Finance
“I don’t have any. Just going
home to Allentown.
Hopefully, party a little.”
Beth Witmer
Accounting
“Just working at
McDonald’s.”
Tony Bupp
Criminal Justice
“Drink a lot and get work
done.”
Yukuang Liu
Computer Science
“My parents are coming and
we’re going to New Jersey
and New York.”
Penn State’s THON:
Where does the money go?
Ever wonder where all the THON money goes after the 48
hours of no sitting and no sleeping? Well, it is all about kids
who suffer from cancer.
The proceeds from the event go to the Four Diamonds Fund
to aid in the fight against pediatric cancer. Any treatment or
equipment that medical insurance refuses to pay is paid for
by Four Diamonds.
The fund also helps families with living expenses such as
rent, car repairs, travel costs, hotel bills, or household utili
ties, in cases where the welfare of the child may be in jeop
ardy. To qualify for support from the Four Diamonds Fund a
family must have a child who is being treated for pediatric
cancer at the Penn State Children’s Hospital. There are no fees to maintain the status of a Four
Diamond’s family.
The fund also supports the medical and research teams that are battling childhood cancer, includ
ing the Four Diamonds Pediatric Cancer Research Institute.
THON is the largest student-run fundraiser in the country. The THON committee, chaired by
Adam Duff, is responsible for organizing the event. The majority of the planning is done by stu
dents from Penn State’s University Park campus. Each satellite campus also participates in the
fundraising and is represented by student dancers.
This year THON raised a whopping $3,547,715.48 “For the Kids.” The money from THON is
the main source of funding for Four Diamonds, but the students must raise the money to pay for
THON itself. To date, THON has raised $29
million for kids with cancer since it began
in 1977
In addition to the money raised, students
provide emotional support for the families.
Each family is adopted through the “adopt a
family” program by an organization within
the Penn State system. Greek organizations
(fraternities and sororities), independent
organizations, such as the Penn State Blue
Band and student clubs, and Commonwealth campuses are the three types of organizations that
adopt Four Diamond families. These organizations support their families by independently raising
money, spending time with them, and staying in contact during the child’s treatment.
Many of the families are very close with their adopted organizations. One dancer wore a T-shirt
reading “If you can read this the dancer fell off,” because he held his adopted child on his back for
the first few hours of the marathon. This year, 130 families attended THON to support their orga
nization’s dancers. They helped the dancers stay awake by playing games and entertaining them.
Many of the kids joined the dancers on the dance floor at various times during the marathon.
The relationship between the students and the families benefits all. While the students encourage
and support the families, the children and their families are an encouragement for the students as
well.
By KATHRYN HERR
Photography Editor
THON raised over 3.5 mil
lion dollars this year