To fundraise for Four Diamonds and raise cancer awareness, Penn State students held THON at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, more commonly known as THON, is a 46-hour no-sitting dance marathon that raises money for Four Diamonds and awareness for families impacted by childhood cancer. For every dollar raised, 96 cents are donated to Four Diamonds.
Four Diamonds is a mission to conquer cancer and help children and their families through superior care, comprehensive support and innovative research.
THON began in 1977, when students came up with a dance marathon to support local charities, although the name THON wasn’t adopted until 1987.
As it grew, it turned into the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. All funds raised help Four Diamonds families offset any costs of cancer treatment at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital that insurance does not cover and also funds cancer research conducted at the Penn State Health Children’s Hospital and Penn State College of Medicine.
In 2024, THON had 708 student dancers raising awareness. However, this number will grow in 2025.
According to communications and organizations coordinator Alex Bon, for 2025 there will be “263 organizations and a 75 independent dancer couples dancing.”
According to dance relations director Nina Royer, this adds up to a total of “over 700” dancers.
These same organizations fundraise the total money. In 2024, THON raised a grand total of $16,955,683.63.
This year, they raised $17,737,040.93, which is more than $780,000 more than last year.
“We have special interest organizations where their sole purpose is fundraising from and being an organization for the sole purpose of THON,” Bon said. “Without these organizations, THON would not exist.”
One of these organizations is Eclipse.
Eclipse was founded in 2015 to raise money through fundraisers such as tie-dyeing and Pet of the Week.
“For Pet of the Week, you donate a couple dollars, and then you get to have your pet on a Google form, and we all vote on who’s the cutest pet. That’s something I like,” Eclipse President Kathryn Dietz said.
Many other organizations and clubs hold fundraisers.
Club cross country held its yearly Miles for Smiles fundraiser on January 31.
“Recently, we had Miles for Smiles, which is our biggest fundraiser,” club cross country family relations chair John Davis said. “It is a 46-hour treadmill marathon, and teammates run thirty minutes on the treadmill.”
Throughout the 46 hours, the event consisted of themed hours.
“For example, we had a Bob Ross hour where we were painting,” Davis said.
It also included plant hour, John Davis hour, slinky hour, mosh hour, and more.
One of these hours was a ‘no hair don’t care’ hour. This consisted of team members buzzing their hair to show support for pediatric cancer patients.
Another form of fundraising includes ribbon sales, also called ribboning.
“We basically set up in front of a restaurant or a storefront, and then we’ll sit there and then ask people if they want to donate to THON and explain THON to them in a few words,” Davis said. “We just say ‘Oh, we’re raising money for kids who have cancer,’ and then maybe they donate, maybe they don’t, but we have a lot of fun together.”
Specifically this year, THON strives to be more inclusive through their DEI branch.
“You’ll be able to see closed captioning for any dancers who need that, as well as spaces for dancers to go when they’re feeling overstimulated,” Royer said. “This something our team has been super passionate about working towards for our dancers.”
Although THON is a fun weekend for all, the end goal is to help Four Diamonds families and eventually dance in celebration, rather than dance to raise money.