Penn State THON 2013 Raised a Record $12.37 Million for Pediatric Cancer

Penn State has been supporting patients of pediatric cancer for many years now through the annual THON dance marathon. The dance fest, if you may call it that, collects pledges and donations while students and patients rock it out on the dance floor. Last year, Penn State’s THON was able to come up with $10.36 million. For THON 2013, the numbers stood at a whopping $12.37 million. The amount was raised after 46 hours of non-stop dancing.

Growing Support for Pediatric Cancer

Penn State University organizes this event, which is considered as one of the oldest and longest dance fests in the country. THON has been around since 1977 and the money that they collect goes to the Four Diamonds Fund for pediatric cancer patients at the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. The charity extends financial assistance to families who do not have insurance to pay for their child’s treatment.

News of this year’s record breaking THON can be read all over social media. Penn State students received a lot of pats on the back for their commitment to this cause. Television networks that covered the event reported that there were more than 700 dancers who went all out on the floor for the charity event.
The attendees are volunteers who are donating their time, talent and energy to help the children raise money. To keep the dancers motivated, group dances, pep rallies and stage performances were mounted all throughout the 46-hour dance marathon.

When exhaustion and sleep-deprivation started to set in, the dancers only had to look at the innocent faces of these angels battling different kinds of cancer.

Hope for Pediatric Cancer Patients

The THON dance marathon is always a special and heartwarming experience for anyone who attends. Whether you’re a spectator, a donor, a dancer, or the family of a cancer patient, the inspiration to go further always come from the children.

Who will benefit from all these efforts? For one, there’s Emma Whitehead. She’s seven years old and is already in remission because they were able to raise funds for a unique gene therapy treatment for her at the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.

Another is 8-year-old Koan who is also in remission. Thanks to the THON, he has the energy to get up and show off his smooth dance moves during the marathon.

Donations for the Four Diamonds Fund are accepted all year-round and are not limited to the duration of the THON dance marathon. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian are said to have taken note of this effort. Hopefully, they dig into their deep pockets and pledge financial support.