WHAT IS THON™ & FOUR DIAMONDS?
THON™ is a student-run dance marathon philanthropy committed to enhancing the lives of children and families impacted by childhood cancer. This unique fundraising event is a great opportunity for all Penn State students to interact with local businesses, local restaurants, and other community members. THON™ raises money all year and its culmination is a February weekend dance marathon at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center in State College, PA. The proceeds are distributed to The Four Diamonds Organization.
The Four Diamond hand symbol is seen a lot at THON.
Four Diamonds is an organization founded by Charles and Irma Millard. Its mission is to conquer childhood cancer by assisting children and their families through superior care, comprehensive support, and innovative research.
Charles Millard, found of Penn State’s THON.
Why Was The Four Diamonds Created?
Christopher Millard, son of Charles and Irma Millard, was 11 years old when he was first diagnosed with cancer. Shortly before he lost his three-year battle with cancer, he wrote a story about a great knight who sought out the Four Diamonds of courage, wisdom, honesty, and strength, in order to be released from the grips of an evil sorceress. These four diamonds symbolized the attributes that Christopher’s family believed were necessary to overcome cancer. The Millards formed this organization to honor their son and to help many other kids diagnosed with cancer.
Since its creation in 1972, Four Diamonds has helped more than 4,800 children and families and supported a diverse platform of childhood cancer research at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine, seeking improved treatments and cures to benefit kids around the world. Please read more about Christopher and the history of THON™ that I sourced from their website.
FTK (For the kids)
When at THON™ there is a good cause catchphrase you’ll want to remember: FTK or For the Kids. It’s written everywhere, on t-shirts, and signs, and it’s even painted on many faces. I just love this simple phrase because it says it all.
Each Organization participating in THON creates their own grand signage for the arena. My own Sigma Kappa sisters teaming up with Fiji above. (PROUD SIGMA)
The Thon organizations
Every greek organization, as well as many other notable organizations at Penn State participate in the weekend and raise money all year for THON™. Club Ultimate Frisbee and Science Lion Pride are just two of the organizations available to students so they can get involved. There are three pages of organizations to be exact and here is a link if you’d like to explore what organization jives with you. Thon Organizations.
Navigators, a Penn State Christian Organization hosting a fashion show FOR THE KIDS with cancer at THON. Photo courtesy: Thon Blog
THE BEST WAYS TO INSPIRE WITH CREATIVE SIGNAGE
One way to inspire a friend who is dancing or working at THON™ is through your gift of creative signage. When you stand anywhere in the arena you can’t help but be overwhelmed by the unique and beautiful signs, shirts, hats, and costumes created by all the participating student organizations and committees. They really are something. Some focus on their sponsored kids, while others light up their grand letters.
The faces of THON children sponsored by this particular Org.
Signage can be powerful as seen throughout the arena during THON.
Pale blue lights enhance the THON Lionette sign.
A GREAT OPTION, JOIN A COMMITTEE
If you’re a student at Penn State I bet you’re wondering how you can join a committee. I want to join a committee and I’m not and never was a student at Penn State. Go here to join a committee, applications are available to all current students. My oldest daughter served on both the Merchandise and the Rules and Regulations committees, My son participates each year with his fraternity Phi Kappa Tau and for the organization OHANA, while my youngest daughter served on the THON Technology Committee and this year is excited to volunteer with Dancer Relations. That’s a great committee because Dancer Relations writes and choreographs the THON-specific dance song played every hour. The students in the stands and all the marathon dancers follow the on-stage Dancer Relations Line Dance Captains as they dance to a song that is set to motivational chants and annual current events. The new and unique choreography is taught by the students on stage in the first hours of THON™, until the final hours when everyone has it committed to memory. The dance is performed every hour on the hour as a way of waking up the dancers and garnering active participation & loud cheers from the audience.
2022 Line Dance Leader Jess Romito. Source: Onward State Blog
PRO TIP: WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU GO
If you decide to take a day trip or spend the entire weekend in State College experiencing THON™ for yourself you will have a great time. THON™ begins at 4 pm on Friday. But I would recommend arriving by mid-afternoon so that you can see the Parade of Dancers walking to the arena. We had special behind-the-scenes knowledge that this was a must-see and I am so glad we did. The line stretched way beyond my photo above and the roar from the Nittany Lion student cheers was incredible. The Dancers are in white, walking through the middle. Talk about school spirit - this was the BEST.
THON’s 2022 Parade of Dancers lining up outside the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State University.
THON™ is free to the public and when inside, you will be instructed to stand all weekend. There is no sitting inside the arena out of respect for the Dancers and of course, For The Kids. So prepare for that, it’s not easy but compare that to their battle with cancer and you get through it. The good news is that you will be entertained for 3 whole days and 2 nights. You’ll hear motivational speakers and see more than one live event. They usually bring in a big-name band in the middle of Saturday night in order to keep the dancers awake. It draws the cheering section students out of bed and keeps everyone pumped with energy! You can come and go as you please, but there may be times throughout the weekend when admittance is limited due to space. One of those times is Sunday afternoon for the Family Hour (when the THON™ families come out on stage and tell their stories) which is such a great idea. This gets everyone emotionally involved. It's followed by the big $$$ reveal. This is where the students come out on stage and reveal the amount of money raised over the course of the entire year. So be sure to get in there earlier in the day because these are not to be missed.
Club Cheer performs at THON 2022. My daughter Kate is the far right flyer in midair. (PROUDMOM)
You’ll see funny skits and live performances by Penn State's sports teams and clubs and be brought to tears by heartwarming family stories. My daughter Kate performed for many years with her PSU Club Cheerleading Team. Her performances were usually at 3:00 am and yes, we left our warm hotel on those cold Pennsylvania, February nights to see her perform because that’s what parents do. She’s the mid-air flyer on the right in this photo above. We are very proud that she raised money and entertained the dancers for so many years at Penn State. The acts and performances run continuously, 24/7 for all 3 days to encourage the dancers and the dance motivators to keep going. An interesting note: each dancer is assigned several dance motivators to help them all weekend. A detail that I just love.
Dancer, Caitlin Geaman, my daughter’s roommate, dances in 2022 despite a severe leg injury for which she received periodic Physical Therapy all weekend. FTK
Alex’s miracle Story
Alex Miller, on the far right of the photo below, is my dear friend, Jackie’s only son. The two of them have been attending THON™ for over 23 years, ever since Alex was diagnosed with Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 1999. At that time he and his entire family were taken in and sponsored by the Phi Gamma Nu service fraternity at Penn State. For Alex’s entire time battling cancer, the THON™ Penn State students from Phi Gamma Nu visited Jackie’s home bringing snacks, gifts, and entertainment for Alex. Four Diamonds provided them with a social worker at the hospital and paid all of Alex’s medical bills not covered by insurance. They also provided gas and food vouchers while Alex was in treatment so that Jackie could leave work and help him. Four Diamonds created a child’s playroom outfitted with toys, books, and games for families staying at the Hershey Medical Center. Jackie remembers there was an activity planned each day for the kids like music therapy, bingo, and even visits from local sports heroes.
I’m happy to report that Alex won his fight with cancer and made a promise to his mom that he’d pay it forward one day by attending Penn State's main campus and joining Phi Gamma Nu. During his time at Penn State, Alex held several leadership roles within the fraternity and even went on to represent them as their THON™ Dancer when he was a senior in 2020. Beautiful.
Ping Pong at Cedar Crest Middle School’s Mini-THON.
SPRING FUNDRAISER IDEAS FOR YOUNGER KIDS
A Four Diamonds Mini-THON® is an effective way for middle and high school students to round out their school year with some unique fundraising activities. Mini-THON® gives students K-12 and their family members, as well as the local community, an easy way to be empowered in the fight to raise much-needed funds to conquer childhood cancer. Getting involved with their school community promotes teamwork, creativity, and school spirit and can raise a lot of money For the Kids. This is a perfect opportunity for students to learn how to manage large groups, recruit volunteers, run a silent auction, design an obstacle course, charge admission, sell raffle tickets, and come up with new creative ideas to raise additional funds with their own custom fundraising campaign - all on school grounds. And it can turn into a wonderful community event.
My very own nephew, Noah Bensing, lead his spring season Mini-THON® at Cedar Crest Middle School in Lebanon, PA last year. Noah was responsible for planning all of the games which students play in the gym after school until 8 pm. He was determined to raise the most money the school had ever raised. There was a small entry fee of $40 per student which they raised on their own through sponsorships, extracurricular activities, as well as the classic way, going door to door. Local vendors pitched in providing refreshments for the hard-working kids.
Last year, when Noah attended THON™ at State College for the first time he was emotionally moved far beyond words. Nothing could prepare him for seeing the huge Bryce Jordan Center filled to capacity with dancing, singing, and cheering undergrads all weekend. Noah learned from Penn State's social media pages, took lots of his own photos and purchased memorabilia on his visit, and created a presentation full of new ideas for his peers in hopes of inspiring a winning team of students who would join him in creating a viable fundraising goal. Visiting THON™ was a good idea because last year Cedar Crest Middle School's fundraising efforts resulted in $46,000 and since they first began mini-thoning they’ve raised over $302,825! FTK
the last lovely hours
Sunday morning drags itself in after a very long and grueling Saturday night. Remember everyone in this arena has not been able to sit down since Friday afternoon. This is true for all of the dedicated dancers but also for the arena full of working students, and families assisting them with loud cheers of positivity, shoulders for learning, and endless sprinkles of inspiration. It’s best to get to the arena by midday Sunday because you won’t want to miss the Family Hour and the Big Reveal at the very end. It’s powerful. And if you can’t make it to State College for this great cause, don’t worry because all of THON™ is available via stream at thon.org
THON 2023
This year THON™ is scheduled for Feb 17, 18, and 19, so this is the perfect time to get involved. I booked my hotel room months ago. It’s probably the most moving weekend I’ve ever experienced in my life and of course, all of my own kids work THON all weekend so I wouldn’t miss it for anything. I feel so honored that my friend Jackie introduced me to this in 2019. I’ve been coming up ever since.
Last year we invited extended family and friends and because of what he witnessed my nephew Nick, a high school junior decided that Penn State was definitely for him - pretty much on the spot. There really is nothing like the profound love, generosity, and joy you feel at a THON™ weekend. If this blog moved you, and if you are able, please make a small donation here: Donate To learn about the families who benefit from THON read this: THON family stories. If you or someone you know is battling childhood cancer and might benefit from becoming a THON™ family, check out this link. If getting involved with a non-THON™ weekend event is more your speed, check out this link. It shares ideas like 5k runs, and other things happening all year long. If you own a business and want to contribute financially here’s the link for you. And if you are one of the 750,000+ Penn State Alumni, here are some ways you can contribute. FTK
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