Penn State students hope to collect $50,000 for a good cause
By the time students at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus arrive at University Park in February for the 2006 Penn State Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, they hope to have $50,000 in donations from the local community. They plan to be busy in the next three months raising money for the dance marathon, known to many as THON.
Members of the team said they will be spotted throughout the area at a number of events they have planned.
Team captain Jennifer Spano of West Newton knows firsthand what it takes to have a successful THON team. She was a member of last year’s team and was one of the four local dancers who spent 48 hours standing and moving.
“You can try to get ready, but there’s really no way to prepare for being on your feet for 48 hours,” she said. “You just have to remember that it’s for a good cause.”
Danny Seibel of Connellsville, public relations captain, said it’s important for his fellow students and the community to know more about THON – what the event actually is and who it benefits.
“We’re working with Rotary clubs, community service organizations and charitable groups,” he said. “A lot of people are willing to hear what we have to say about THON. We need to get the word out and get THON in the public eye.”
Steven Leighty, finance captain, said the team has been seeking donations from area businesses and will begin collecting money at busy intersections while drivers wait at traffic lights and outside several businesses. This weekend is the first of four “canning weekends” planned between now and the dance marathon.
Students have been seeking donations this weekend outside Adrian’s Market in Hopwood, at Smithfield State Bank, and at intersections in Connellsville, he said.
Melissa White of Point Marion, fund-raising captain, said a number of events are in the works, including a T-shirt sale, face painting at the Uniontown Mall, a battle of the bands, and a mini-mini THON at the Cub’s Den Childcare Center on campus.
Some students will also brave the cold and shoppers waiting in line outside Wal-Mart on Black Friday to sell baked goods and hot chocolate to raise money for THON.
This year, dancers will take over Rec Hall and will remain standing and moving for 48 hours from 7 p.m. Feb. 17 to 7 p.m. Feb. 20.
The dance marathon marks the culmination of five months of fund raising for the Four Diamonds Fund of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
The money raised helps families of children with cancer cover any medical expenses not covered by insurance and helps with expenses as children undergo treatment.
White said she got involved with THON after a 10-year-old girl she knew died from cancer.
“I keep her in the back of my mind,” she said. “There are kids that don’t see the outside of the same four walls.”
Spano said she and other team members have met with the Penn State Fayette THON family from Pleasant Hall, who have a 15-year-old son that was diagnosed with neuroblastoma over a year ago. She said meeting them makes the effort worthwhile.
“They love to see Penn State students, and they know why we’re here,” she said.
Seibel said team members have been working on a video to send to the family later this year.
THON, known as the largest student-run philanthropy, raised $4.1 million for the fund in 2005, according to Chad Long, assistant to the director of student affairs. Students have been raising money for Four Diamonds Fund since 1978 and have given more than $30 million, he said.
Penn State Fayette students have raised nearly $300,000 in the previous eight years that the campus has participated, he said.To make a donation, contact Long at 724-430-4248. For more information, visit www.THON.org