Over 50 high schools throughout Pennsylvania danced in Mini THONs this past weekend, helping raise considerable funds for Four Diamonds. One such school, Cumberland Valley, raised $61,792.05 this year.
According to the THON website, Mini THONs made up for 10 percent of donations to the Four Diamonds Fund in 2008 and have raised about $4 million to date!
After the jump, check out this video of the Cumberland Valley Mini THON 2010 Line Dance!
At this point last week, many of us were recovering from sleep deprived delirium, as THON had just ended. After having a week to cool down from the hype and hysteria of THON weekend, I started to wonder about what was in store for THON in the future.
Consider this year's total: $7,838,054.36, roughly a 4.6% increase from last year. Given a recession and a rather botched canning weekend (stupid snow), this was a major achievement and represented a ton of hard work. However, it got me thinking. What will happen when THON reaches a "steady state" for the amount of money it raises every year? I don't think this will happen soon, as there is still plenty of room for THON to grow within PSU. But, what happens when (if?) THON reaches a point of zero growth? Read the full post for my thoughts.
So here at Dear Ol' State, THON seemed like such a long time ago. Only one week ago we were preparing to dance for the kids. This isn't stopping the world (and Glenn Thompson) from catching on to the greatness that is THON, though!
Read on for some more THON love.
This weekend, I spent many hours experiencing something amazing. I covered what I believe is one of the greatest collegiate endeavors ever attempted. THON 2010.
During my coverage time with Onward State, I worked with great people and got to see what goes on behind the scenes and up close what THON accomplishes.
THON doesn't just start on Friday and end on Sunday, THON starts almost a year in advance, and so did Onward State's coverage. We started covering many stories related to THON and how THON operates, we contacted THON PR and talked with many THON representatives to makes sure you would receive the best THON coverage we could offer.
For more info on how we were able to cover the behemoth that is THON (and for 116 pictures!), read the full story.
The THON dancers, since 1973, have helped raise approximately $61 million (plus this year's total) to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund at the Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital.
But, prior to Friday afternoon, I'll admit I did not know too much about THON. I knew that there were dancers that participated in THON and I knew that they had to remain awake for the whole weekend. But with the help of THON dancer Matt Swingle and the rest of the THON volunteers, I learned everything I needed to know.
When the dancers first step on to the floor of the Bryce Jordan Center, they are essentially partaking in an embodiment of the struggle that the Four Diamond Families go through each and every day. The dancers battle exhaustion every minute just to make it to the next hour, just as each cancer patient fights each day to see the next. For both, at times, to quit would appear to be the most appealing road to take. But they won't quit. It's all or nothing.
Read the full post for more.
The money THON raises has increased almost three fold in the past decade from around $3 million in 2000 to close to $8 million this year, and some people wonder what has caused such a dramatic increase in donations. Most wouldn’t say students are working harder (because they’ve always worked hard). Maybe more students have gotten involved in the past ten years. But how can one explain why, despite the recession, during which one study says 94% of non-profits reported negative effects on fundraising, THON has managed to raise its donations?
Daniel Victor, a Harrisburg area newspaperman, thinks that the use of Facebook might be at least a contributing factor, as evidenced by a February 21st tweet in which he wrote, “Theory: Could #Thon's economy-bucking success since 2005 be correlated to rise of Facebook? Maybe it created more consistent peer pressure?”
Read on after the jump for some more details.