SouderThon preparations bring clubs together

Raising money for cancer awareness, Souderton Area High School gets ready to host its fourth SouderThon after a four-year hiatus.

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By planning numerous events and activities, the Interclub Council (ICC) hopes to create a memorable experience for participants attending SouderThon from March 10-11 while also fundraising for local charities.
SouderThon, also known as Thon, is a 12-hour lock-in event dedicated to raising money for cancer awareness.
Participants had to pay a $25 registration fee, which covers the cost of running Thon, and must fundraise a minimum of $50 that will go towards Locks of Love and Peter Powerhouse.
This year, the ICC returned after Covid, allowing club representatives to meet and discuss what is happening in their clubs. Right now, their main priority is preparing for Thon.
“We wanted ICC to be in charge of Thon because we want it to be an all-school event where all clubs are involved,” Student Council advisor Amy Tarlo said.
Throughout the night, there will be a variety of activities, food and events for participants to enjoy.
“We will have an arts and crafts station, face painting and dancing all night, so bring your dancing shoes,” Thon co-chair Molly Kreag said. “It’s going to be unreal.”
Assistant principal Matt Haines said that clubs will have a “large presence” for community hours, which will be open to anyone from the community from 6-9 p.m.
One of the many clubs that will host activities at Thon is the gaming club. Some of their ideas include virtual reality, big-screen competitive events and Mario Kart.
“It’s eye-catching stuff that attracts people not just during the overnight part, but also during the community hour,” Gaming Club advisor Patrick Murphy said. “It also lends itself well to the idea of staying up all night.”
To encourage students to register, Thon co-chair Mikayla McGillian and Kreag posted the “12 Days of Thon” on Instagram. They revealed a new aspect of Thon each day until December 31, the last day to sign up.
According to McGillian, using social media was beneficial for getting the word out about Thon since most underclassmen “don’t really know what Thon is.”
By offering extra credit to his AP Biology classes, Murphy incentivized students to attend Thon. Murphy said that this was a fun way of encouraging students to participate.
Since this is the fourth Thon at Souderton, the advisors have experience under their belts, helping the preparations run smoothly. “Everything’s been the same, which is nice because I feel like it’s a well-oiled machine,” Tarlo said. “We’ve done it three times, so we’re able to roll off that, and we have added things to make it a little bit better.”
Kreag said there are “a lot of moving parts,” but they trust each club to get its part done and make Thon a success.
Thon is typically in rotation every two years. However, there was a four-year gap since the last event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think not having Thon has created more of a buzz to participate in Thon,” guidance counselor Daniel Glatts said.