author: BRANDY SICKLES

Penn State Fayette, the Eberly Campus hosts a variety of excellent student organizations, but THON encompasses the true meaning of family.

THON is a student run philanthropy dedicated to helping children and their families affected by cancer. Thousands of students come together each year and fundraise to ensure that no child that is a part of the Four Diamonds Fund, and treated at Hershey Medical Center, must see a single bill.

Not only do these efforts help with the initial expenses, but they go the extra step in paying for any therapy or treatments that are needed afterwards. It’s so amazing how people come together to help those that most of the time they have never even met.

WHY FAYETTE, THE EBERLY CAMPUS THONS

The Foust Family

Different THON teams can be paired with families that are a part of the Four Diamonds Foundation.

This means that there are special interactions between the teams and the families including checking in on them to see how things are going, inviting them to events, sending them items from fundraisers we do, and ultimately participating in THON weekend.

Penn State Fayette has had the opportunity to be paired with 3 families in the past where team members stood by them along their journey with cancer.

“It has been so amazing to stand beside these families and watch the children blossom into unique individuals,” said Director of Student Affairs and THON Advisor, Chad Long.

Most of the families still stay in touch with Chad or other people they have met in THON along their journeys because it was such a big part of their lives.

There are two special families that we are currently paired with, the Foust family and the Strait family.

The Foust family has been paired with Penn State Fayette since 2005. Jeremy Foust was diagnosed with a brain tumor as a teen and went into remission several times after the reoccurrence of the cancer, until the last time where it was progressing at such a fast pace and sadly consumed his life.

I am privileged to have the opportunity to meet Tandy, Jeremy’s mother, this many years later, however I am sad that I never got to meet Jeremy because he seemed like such a kind soul that I feel everyone needed in their life.

I also had the amazing opportunity to converse with Penn State Alumni, Hilary Griffith.

Hilary was a THON dancer in 2007, was awarded the THON Swimmer Spirit award in 2008, and in 2009, she was the Morale captain and ultimately awarded Captain of the Year. As you can see, Hilary was fully involved in THON and truly was the example of THON spirit. While all of these were such grand accomplishments, nothing compared to the relationship she created with Jeremy Foust. She always said that Jeremy was always so kind and funny and if he were a color, he would be tie dye.

During THON weekend in 2007 it just hit the final hours and exhaustion was setting in for all the dancers.

“I’ll never forget thinking how we were supposed to be there for him [Jeremy], and he was the biggest reason that I kept going,” said Hilary. Jeremy was there for her – and the whole THON team to motivate them to keep moving.

Hilary was so impacted by the Jeremy and his family that she later got a tattoo that was the epitaph of Jeremy’s tombstone – ‘Jeremy will forever be a part of me.’

After Jeremy’s passing, Tandy has continued to be paired with the THON team at Penn State Fayette and remains in contact. I think that it’s wonderful that she still supports the team in everything we do, and we are so fortunate to still be paired with her!

The Strait Family

The Strait family has been paired with Penn State Fayette for two years now.

Emma Strait was diagnosed with leukemia in the early months of 2018. After several treatments at Hershey Medical Center, she was deemed to be in remission in 2019. Being paired with Emma during this critical time in her life has brought so many new faces into her family and made her realize that we’re there for her through it all.

The team had the opportunity to first meet with Emma during THON weekend in 2019. She was shy and a little distant at first, but it didn’t take her long to warm up to team. I can’t even imagine how it would feel to have over thirty people that you’ve never met before being paired with your family. From this, we’ve seen her grow out of her shell and welcome us with open arms.

Emma is so bold and brave for conquering everything that she has been through. The THON team is so happy to call her one of us! She has a bright future ahead of her and we can’t wait to experience it with her right by her side!

Why I THON

As an incoming first year student last year, I already knew that THON was something that I wanted to join because everything that I heard about it was nothing short of amazing.

Aside from that, a few years prior to being accepted into the University, a family friend broke the news that his daughter was diagnosed with an Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor. She passed away just a few short months later.

It hit me so hard because of how sudden and unexpected it was. I could only imagine how the family had felt and what they were going through. I never wanted to experience anyone else going through what they went through ever again. That’s when I knew I needed to make a difference and spread awareness for childhood cancer along the way.

Within just a few short weeks of joining the THON team, I was a part of the Fayette family and felt welcomed by so many. Joining THON last year has truly changed my life. It has allowed me to meet new people and interact with others in a way that I would not at one time because of how shy I was.

The people that surrounded me became some of my closest friends and together we support a cause for something bigger than us. The impact THON has had on me within the last year has been so tremendous that I decided to apply for the Family Relations captain position this year and was selected.

Being able to work one on one with the other captains, the Fayette THON Chair, Hayley White, and our organization advisor, Chad Long, to plan the fundraisers and activities for the year, means so much to me. I’m thankful that I was chosen for the position, and I make it my duty to serve as the best Family Relations Captain that I can be to make the experience worthwhile for other team members.

I can honestly say that you will not find a more meaningful group of students working together on campus to fight something so much bigger than us. The bond that is created along the way is unlike anything else I’ve experienced. I wouldn’t be who I am today without THON, and it is something that I will forever cherish.

The THON team meets every Thursday during common hour in Swimmer Hall. We would be honored to have you apart of our team! If you are looking for ways to support the team, please reach out to myself, Chad, or one of the other THON team members to provide you with that information.

We hope to see some new faces soon!