Every year, more than 15,000 strangers become a family. For one weekend, no matter the weather, these more than 15,000 students fill the Bryce Jordan Center to celebrate the year-long efforts of THON to fight childhood cancer and make a statement: we won’t stop until cancer does.
The Penn State Dance Marathon, better known as THON, is the largest student run philanthropy in the world with 96% of proceeds raised going to the Four Diamonds at Hershey Medical Center. This well-known and beloved Penn State organization is “committed to enhancing the lives of children and families impacted by childhood cancer.”
On one special weekend in February, students come together to participate in “a 46 hour no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon.” The goal of this weekend is to allow the children and families impacted by pediatric cancer to forget about the struggles they’re facing, and be a kid again. Through the year-long efforts of THON, students work to provide support to the children and families impacted by this disease, spread awareness and raise money to fund medical treatments and advance research all in hopes of leading us to a day where cancer no longer exists!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout my college career, it’s that you can make a difference in the world as a college student. If you’re interested in being a part of one of the biggest families at Penn State, THON is always here to welcome you with open arms
How do I get involved?
As a student, there are a ton of ways to get involved with THON, and each one will help you have a different experience from the rest during THON weekend!
Committees:
There are 14 committees that work together to put together events leading to THON weekend, and THON weekend itself. The THON Executive Committee holds interviews to appoint people as captains for a specific committee. Some of those captains then go on to interview and select about 20-35 students to serve on their respective committees.
Committees are the people working behind the scenes of THON. They help to plan and execute all of the logistics that go into making THON events and THON weekend happen. From the second the committees are put together, they hit the ground running to create signs for the THON 5k, reach out to faculty and staff, plan safety procedures for THON weekend and so much more. It would be impossible to have such a large-scale event without these groups of people to help organize it.
I might be biased, but I definitely think that getting involved with THON committees have been the greatest decisions of my Penn State career. Each year, I’ve walked into a committee and watched more than 25 strangers turn into a family. We’re brought together by the fact that we all desperately want to put an end to cancer, and we do everything we can to help our little heroes have a better tomorrow. Every member on a committee has a specific task to help maintain the flow of THON. Whether it be to create bonds with pen pal THON families, be your captain’s right-hand man, or provide the committee with inspiration…everyone, as our captains like to say, is picked for a reason.
Committees do require an interview process, but I promise you, the nerves you might feel during that 15 minute time period are so unbelievably worth it.
Organizations
THON organizations work to raise money for THON and foster life-long relationships with THON families. Organizations can be solely dedicated to raising awareness and money for THON, they can be made of greek life, or they can be various student orgs around campus simply wanting to help, for the kids and for the cure.
While each sorority or fraternity typically has their own philanthropy that they dedicate their time to, they still come together to raise awareness of pediatric cancer and money for pediatric cancer research. If you don’t want to join strictly a THON organization, this is a great way to still make a difference in the lives of children and family battling pediatric cancer, while also giving you an opportunity to get closer to your greek life family. Each greek organization is paired with a THON family, similarly to organizations, which allows them to create friendships while extending their emotional support to the families.
Why THON?
There are a million reasons to THON, but to put it simply, one of the reasons I THON is for those who can’t, or might never get the chance. I THON so I can make these children and their families forget about the world for a bit. Their smiles are infectious, and to me, there’s nothing better than being a part of those moments. These kids are heroes. They fight the pain and still put on a brave face at such a young age. No child should have to fear what the next day will bring, no child should ever have to go through any pain (especially not any that can’t be fixed with ice cream and a hug), and no child should ever have to spend some of the most carefree years of their life in a hospital.
We THON because we’re lucky enough to be able to. We THON so parents don’t have to worry if they can afford to give their children the treatments that could save their lives. We THON so every cub can become a Nittany lion. We THON so one day we’ll find a cure and that no one will ever have to hear the words, “your child has cancer.” Until then, we’ll keep dancing, FTK & FTC.
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