This evening, the Penn State Dance Marathon announced the members of the Overall Committee for THON 2011. The committee members, chosen by Overall Chairperson, Kirsten Kelly, and THON advisor, Barry Bram, will be the leaders of the world's largest student-run philanthropy.
Click through to see the selectees.
Maxwell Kruger produced a timelapse of this year's THON weekend... the first 30 seconds are a little disconcerting, but once you get adjusted the visuals are pretty stunning. Kruger also has a bunch more photos at his website.
http://www.youtube.com/v/nuZr7Yd0aVE&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&hd=1
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.
But this one's different from most of our THON coverage, I swear.
Kylie Nellis, a Penn State cheerleader majoring in broadcast journalism, produced this short documentary about her dancing in THON. Definitely a different point of view than most of us experienced.
http://www.youtube.com/v/4IPVwh4V4nc&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0
The second half is after the jump.
Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to sit down with THON 2010 Overall Chairperson Caitlin Zankowski to talk about her experiences heading up the world's largest student-run philanthropy. Sitting around a table in 210 HUB, where so many crucial decisions regarding THON and its direction are made, we talked about her experiences as Overall Chair and where she would like to see THON go in the future.
Read on for the full interview.
Yesterday in Washington, D.C., Congressman Glenn Thompson [R-Pennsylvania 5th] sponsored a resolution to congratulate the Penn State Dance Marathon (THON) for a record-setting fundraising total.
Thompson gave a brief description of THON in front of the House of Representatives and congratulated the dancers, volunteers, and participants of the dance marathon. The bill was co-sponsored by Reps. Kathleen Dahlkemper [D-PA3], Charles Dent [R-PA15], Jim Gerlach [R-PA6], Tim Holden [D-PA17], Tim Murphy [R-PA18], Joe Sestak [D-PA7], William Shuster [R-PA9], and Frank Wolf [R-VA10]. It just goes to show that supporting THON is truly bipartisan.
Here's the video of his speech.
http://www.youtube.com/v/9eAe1h0wDRM&hl=en_US&fs=1