After months and months of waiting and preparation, dancers will stand in less than three hours. THON 2018 executive director Andrew Smith and public relations director Haley Staub were joined by Four Diamonds co-founder Charles Millard and executive director Suzanne Graney for the pre-event press conference.

THON’s partnership with Four Diamonds has entered its 41st year and a lot has changed over that period of time — with the 46-hour event becoming a yearly spectacle in the fight against childhood cancer. THON has grown beyond just one weekend in February, which is an important aspect for the executive committee.

“I think that we’ve really been able to accomplish a lot this year,” Smith said. “We’ve really tried to bring the community together in new ways throughout the year. We’ve really tried to expand on our events and make sure that we are doing our best to be inclusive and bring everyone into the THON community.”

Part of that expansion dealt with bringing some of the major pre-THON events outside of Happy Valley. For the first time, the yearly “100 Days ‘Til THON” event was celebrated outside of campus with volunteers taking some of the festivities to Hershey.

THON also expanded its fundraising options with the phasing out of canning. It held its first-ever goal-oriented “One Day” campaign with hopes of raising $100,000. It ended up nearly tripling that figure.

“That campaign really showed what we can do as a community,” Smith said. “We mobilized every single student, thousands of alumni, and we absolutely shattered that goal. That was way beyond my expectations. That was a real highlight because it shows the power of the THON community when everyone works toward the same mission.”

The power of the community is a huge reason why inclusivity is important for THON’s continued growth. The goal is for every student to have the opportunity to be involved in THON.

“What I would say to someone about how to get involved with THON or how to learn more, I would say two things,” Smith said. “First is learn a little more about our mission. I think one of the things that keeps people so devoted and so involved, not only as students, but also after they graduate, is there’s a real connection to our mission. Our partnership with Four Diamonds has really helped us because we’ve stayed really connected and I think that’s helped both of our organizations grow and succeed.”

“The other thing I would say, if someone’s looking to learn about THON and see what it’s like, come to THON weekend. It’s one of those events that’s really difficult to describe or sum up in one sentence or even a paragraph. It’s impossible to capture the energy that is in the building.”