As you may well know THON is coming up in t-minus sixteen days (read: really really soon) and I’m sure that y’all can’t wait for that day to finally arrive. What can you do in the meantime? Here’s your answer:

Send the dancers mail for Mail Call!

For those of you that don’t know, Mail Call is an hour-long event during THON weekend where dancers receive letters and packages from their friends and family (and sometimes anonymous supporters) to inspire them and to keep them on their feet dancing for the kids.

Typically, these letters contain quotes, sayings, or basically anything to help the dancers make it through the last few hours. Put in jokes or riddles or crosswords: be creative! If there’s anything you think would help a dancer in need, put it in a letter. Friends and family of dancers: you know them best and you know what makes them happy – write something personal and give them that extra boost.

What if you don’t know a dancer personally or you’ve run out of dancers to send mail to? No worries, you can be one of those aforementioned anonymous supporters and write random dancer mail! Each and every letter means the world to the dancers, so the more, the better.

You can send packages as well–just don’t go larger than a shoebox. Here are some ideas for what to put in them: (non-perishable) snacks, puzzles or games, photos, costumes, anything that might make a dancer happy EXCEPT CAFFEINE, please.

Now, you’re probably wondering where to drop off all these letters and packages. Good question.

If you live in State College, drop off the letters at 324 HUB and the packages at 327 HUB by February 9th. Make sure that you label the letters and packages with the name and dancer number. You can find every dancer’s number by sifting through the THON 2012 Dancer List that was released last night.

If you don’t live in State College, address the letters and packages as such:

Attn: Mail Call
Dancer Number, Dancer Name
210 Hetzel Union Building (HUB)
University Park, PA 16802

Mail coming in from outside Penn State must be postmarked by February 7th.

You can also submit pre-THON letters (PTLs) and packages before Mail Call Hour. For PTLs, just label the letters with “PTL” next to the dancer name and number. For a package, tell your family and friends to send them directly to your moraler!

If you have more questions about Mail Call visit http://thon.org/students/mail_call or contact THON directly at [email protected]