Penn State Dance MaraTHON
The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dancer MaraTHON has become a large focus of the Men's Club Lacrosse Team over the past couple of years. THON, as it is more affectionately referred to, has a mission of conquering pediatric cancer by providing outstanding emotional and financial support to the children, families, researchers and staff of the Four Diamonds Fund. The Four Diamonds Fund, based out of Penn State Hershey Medical Center, was established in 1972 by Charles and Irma Millard after the death of their son, Christopher, who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 11. While The Fund dedicates a large portion of its time to research, the majority of its donations aid families in need by covering expenses that insurance doesn't. This can be anything from the cost of chemotherapy treatment to covering travel and hotel fees for families of The Four Diamonds Fund. No family has ever been turned away from The Fund, which is paramount due to the FACT that up to 75% of all pediatric cancer can be cured with the right treatment.
THON partnered with The Four Diamonds Fund in 1977 and has since contributed over $80 million to The Fund, with a record breaking $9,563,016.09 in 2011. A year long fundraising effort from thousands of students makes THON the largest student run philanthropy in the world, and culminates to one final weekend in February. THON weekend is a 46 hour dance marathon in which approximately 700 dancers are not allowed to sit or sleep for the duration of the event. The dancers are humbled to know that while it may seem impossible to stay on their feet that long, that a child with the courage to stand up to nature's greatest evil is a much more remarkable feat; and that the pain in their knees doesn't compare to the pain a parent feels when they hear that their child has been diagnosed with cancer.
As Joe Paterno once said, "When people say 'WE ARE PENN STATE,' this is what they are talking about."
Recently, Men's Club Lacrosse has completely invested itself into becoming a strong THON organization. In 2011, with the help of the Women's Club Lacrosse Team, we raised over $36,000 For The Kids, beating our previous total by approximately 208%. During THON weekend we had a strong presence which was illuminated by the neon-green "LAX" sign in the center of the Bryce Jordan Center. Our goal is to ensure that the terms "Club Lacrosse" and "THON" will go hand-in-hand this upcoming year and into the future. In the upcoming year, we aim to raise over $50,000 as well as have the privilege of adopting a Four Diamonds Family to become a part of our dedicated and caring community. Everyone within our organization is excited for THON season to begin as we start the next step to conquering childhood cancer.
"One day we will dance in celebration, until then we will dance for a cure."
For more information or to donate, visit THON.org or contact the Men's Club Lacrosse THON Chair, Patrick Gilbert at PJG5073@psu.edu
