It’s no secret that Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA) and Alpha Tau Omega (ATO), more commonly known as Zetaus, have stood out raising money for THON.

At THON 2025, Zetaus raised $529,003.97. Not only did this make the organization a leader for Greek organizations, but it also raised more money than any other organization that participated in THON this year. However, being a top fundraiser is nothing new to the members of ATO and ZTA, as they’ve consistently raised the most money for well over 20 years.

While many organizations experience fluctuations in their fundraising, Zetaus has consistently increased its fundraising totals for the past seven years and has raised over $4 million in the past 10 years.

Although many Greek organizations have a passion for THON, Zetaus has made it clear that THON has personally woven its way into many of the members’ lives. With two THON families who have had children attend Penn State and join ATO, members saw firsthand the effect THON has on families and children with pediatric cancer.

Tucker Haas, a THON child and member of ATO, had a profound impact on the brothers in his fraternity, especially on this past year’s Alternative Fundraising Chair, Christian Doran.

“I hung out with Tuck for days, and he really impacted us during THON,” Doran said. “Going through my first THON and building a relationship with Tucker really helped with getting me more involved. He’s a great friend and a really big part of our lives.”

While having THON children like Haas join the organization has made a huge impact, the recent loss of Gus Bomgardner, another one of Zetaus’ THON children, affected the organization entirely.

“Having someone pass and seeing him a week before he passed put it into perspective of who we’re doing it for, whether it’s financially or emotionally. I do think what happened with Gus lit a spark, but we always keep in mind who we’re doing it for,” ZTA’s overall THON Chair, Taylor Hall, said.

Aside from traditional events that organizations host with their THON families, Zetaus tries to go the extra mile by having barn parties, pumpkin-carving competitions, and other events.

“We have a barn party and host many events with the THON families. Our org is really like a family, so when we adopt other THON families, we want them to feel included in our family,” ZTA’s Family Relations Chair Olivia Karoly said. “It’s more than money to us. We want to spend time with our families and focus on supporting our families financially and emotionally rather than competing to be No. 1.”

However, the importance of THON is not just emphasized at the beginning of the school year but is highlighted as early as recruitment.

“We have a whole glass cabinet for our THON achievements, so when I’m giving tours, I make sure to tell the guys this is something we take really seriously,” Doran said.

“We have a two-hour meeting with all new members to expose the new people to see if it sparks something in them like it did with us,” Hall added.

While it’s important to form a bond with their THON families, Zetaus has also worked on creating a strong bond between their two organizations through events such as bowling nights, golf outings, and even field days.

The memories and connections they have made in years past still have a profound impact years later as many Zetaus alumni will send pictures and letters of encouragement to the members now, with even the most recent alumni helping push donor drive links and come up with fresh ideas to promote funding.

“Our alumni are super involved, especially past chairs or dancers, and we send our alumni a newsletter to make sure they still feel connected and involved. We’ll send out emails, and people from 20 years ago who were involved will send us pictures and reach out,” Hall said.

“Most of the credit is to our alumni,” Doran added. “Our members really do care about the cause, and they don’t have to reach ou,t and yet they still consistently reach out and check in with us.”

It’s also stressed to its members that THON is a year-long effort and not just a last-minute push.

“You have to constantly send out donor drives and send texts. It’s constant, but you know it’s for a good cause. It’ll all work out if you keep up with it,” Doran said.

“We also make sure that our members personalize their emails with pictures or make it however they want it so they feel empowered to reach out,” Hall added.

The emails, texts, and posts seemed to work for the org as Zetaus saw 80% of its fundraising come from donations made through donor drives, with the rest coming from fundraisers hosted by local businesses and some corporate sponsors.

“We don’t have many corporate donors, but we try and have members reach out to their family and friends in high positions and see if they want to donate. A lot of businesses are really eager to reach out, and they want to host fundraisers,” said Karoly.

“It’s hard to put into words, but to see the effect on our families and how you can stay connected lasts a lifetime. As much as we do for THON, our families give us so much back,” Karoly said.