On Friday, Feb. 7, Abington Senior High School held its seventh annual mini-THON fundraiser. The eight-hour, all-standing event raises proceeds and awareness to benefit pediatric cancer treatment. The inability to sit down for the duration of the event is so that, for just a short bit of time, students are able to feel the discomfort that cancer patients experience at all times.
Mini-THON is a spin-off of the main THON fundraising event, held annually at The Pennsylvania State University. This year, THON will be held Feb. 21-23, when, for 46 hours, volunteers give kids and their families the opportunity to forget about their cancer diagnosis while 700+ students are recognized as dancers and stand on their feet for the entirety of the weekend.
Nearly 300 students from Abington Senior and Junior High (grades 9-12) participate each year in mini-THON, which consists of multiple activities including a choreographed dance routine, sporting events like pillow polo and ping-pong, a lip-sync contest, and “Family Hour,” where families who have been personally affected by childhood cancer come and share their stories with the students.
When mini-THON concluded at the Senior High on Friday night, the total amount raised by Abington Schools “for the kids” was revealed: a record-breaking $58,536.20 (more than $3,500 above last year’s total). All money raised at the Abington Senior High School mini-THON and the main event at State College is donated directly to the Four Diamonds Fund, which operates out of the Hershey Medical Center. The funds are used to help offset the costs of treatment for families undergoing pediatric cancer and to promote further research of this horrific disease.