The word THON has left the lips of nearly every single Penn State student at least once for the past 37 years. In the same vein, nearly every student and alumni have a general idea of what THON is all about. If you were to survey any one student still awake in a 100 Thomas lecture, he would probably respond with " it’s the largest student-run philanthropy" or ‘"it’s FTK." Both correct. But what if you were to ask how it got started, or what exactly the Four Diamonds represent--would they know?
Recently, Onward State got a hold of a new video vignette released by The Four Diamonds Fund. The video, featuring Four Diamonds visionaries Charles and Irma Millard, Tucker Haas, and countless other Four Diamond Families, explains the roots of The Four Diamonds Fund and THON.
You can find out about the history of the Four Diamonds Fund and check out the video after the jump.
You may have heard that some new THON Captains were announced for 2011 recently for the Entertainment, Technology, Finance, Merchandise, and PR Committees. A breakdown on the announced captains after the jump.
Sunday night was one that Kirsten Kelly will not soon forget. At around 11pm, it was announced that she would be the 2011 THON Overall Chairperson. Kelly wanted to be the Overall Chair because, in her words, "I believe in the role THON is playing in the fight against pediatric cancer and want to take THON to the next level. I want to take advantage of the opportunities THON has for growth and improvement so we can provide outstanding emotional and financial support to the children, families, researchers and staff of the Four Diamonds Fund."
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Having spent THON 2010 as the Merchandise Overall Chairperson, Kelly has already played a very important role in THON's success. She had this to say about how her experiences in the past year will aid her in the next: "[My experiences] have taught me a lot about communication, leadership and what THON needs in the future. The interaction I had with the THON community through that position will be an asset to my year as the Overall Chair. Not to mention I have tons of THON gear to wear after this past year!"
Read the full post for the next steps on the road towards THON 2011.