UNIVERSITY PARK. Pa. — The reminders of why they stood and who their efforts are for were all around a jam-packed Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday afternoon.
There were 708 sleep-deprived dancers, swaying arm in arm with those they worked with to raise funds and those whose ongoing battles against pediatric cancer weren’t far from their minds. Penn State University’s annual 46-hour no-sleeping, no-sitting Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon concluded at 4 p.m. with gasps and shouts as the final fundraising total of $13.02 million was raised digit by digit, pulling close to last year’s record-setting $13.3 million.
Since 1977, Penn State raised more than $127 million benefiting the Four Diamonds Fund based out of Penn State Hershey Medical Center. The money goes toward treatment costs for pediatric cancer patients as well as for research in the quest to find a cure. The event known as “Thon” is regarded as the largest student-run philanthropy in the world.
“The mission of Thon really is to raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer and that’s exactly what was accomplished,” said Penn State student Aly Young, Thon’s public relations director. “It’s all the little moments that happen throughout the weekend.”
Thon weekend draws more than 15,000 Penn State student volunteers and the Thon families — some of whom gather to celebrate remission, others who continue to fight and those who gather to remember their son, daughter, brother, sister or friend who is no longer alive. The dance floor itself was a way for the Thon families to step away from the troubles they face and the obstacles for some of them that have passed. Kids equipped with water guns, punch balls, bubbles, tutus and smiles have the run of the place throughout the weekend.
Construction paper cutouts in the hallway surrounding the dance floor were plastered with pictures of families and their stories about how the Four Diamonds Fund impacted their lives. Reminiscent of an elementary school hallway with colorful pictures, bright colors and messages of inspiration, these words serve as motivation for the dancers who kneel beside them while stretching, bouncing tennis balls and battling fatigue during the weekend.
“It’s kind of one of the greatest accomplishments ever in the students’ lives to help a child,” said Sue Paterno, the widow of the late football coach Joe Paterno, while she walked around the floor in a blue and white striped sweater. “For the kids and the success they’re having, they don’t always win, but they try to support them and what the students do is unbelievable.”
Mrs. Paterno, like many others in the Penn State community, watched as the event continues to grow. Thon topped the $1 million mark for the first time in 1992 and was held at various on-campus locations to accommodate the growing crowds throughout the years. In 2007, it moved to the 15,000-seat Jordan Center, which was at capacity Sunday.
Every year, stories of children who benefited from the Four Diamonds Fund and the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital — which opened in 2013 in part because of Thon’s $10 million contribution — are celebrated.
During an emotional roller coaster of a weekend and heading into the final hours when the song “Angels Among Us” played and pictures of those whose fight against pediatric cancer had ended appeared on the scoreboard, Thon families, dancers and crowd members had tears in their eyes.
“You have no idea the difference you make,” the father of Thon child Daniel Testa said to the crowd.
The boy was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer that develops from immature nerve cells, when he was 8 months old and underwent rounds of treatment and surgery before he turned 2.
“Thon is my son being able to stand next to me while I make this speech,” the boy’s father said.
Once the total was revealed, dancers and Thon committee members were teary eyed again. This time, they were tears of joy as Penn State’s students and the Thon families had 13 million reasons to celebrate.
Audrey Snyder: asnyder@post-gazette.com or on Twitter @audsnyder4.
First Published: February 22, 2015, 9:32 p.m.
Updated: February 23, 2015, 4:58 a.m.