USC High Schoolers Holding Mini-Thon To Help Kids With Cancer

UPPER ST. CLAIR, PA - Emulating Penn State's popular THON, Upper St. Clair High School will hold its first 12-hour Mini-THON beginning April 21 at 6 p.m. The event will benefit the Four Diamonds organization that assists pediatric cancer victims and their families at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.

More than 250 students are expected to dance the night away in the culminating event of the school’s five-month effort to raise $10,000 for Four Diamonds. About $3,500 has been raised thus far at fundraising events that have included a volleyball tournament, car wash and photo booths at school dances.

The Mini-Thon will kick off with Community Hours from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in which township residents are invited to the school to participate in family-friendly games, purchase refreshments and be entertained by a DJ in the gym.

“During community hours we have a special assortment of more than 30 different stands from a fajita stand to a mini golf game to a gladiator sword fight,” senior Eric Lehman said. “We want the community to come enjoy themselves by playing all the games and supporting USC’s fight against childhood cancer.”

Lehman and fellow seniors Stephen Cuddy, Mac Dominick, Megan Kramer and Allie Ryave organized the Mini-THON. Serving as faculty advisors were counselor Thomas Marquis, math teacher Mike Funfar and math teacher Amanda Haas.

“We are most excited about leaving our legacy on the school, while raising money for such a good cause,” Cuddy said. “This event is centered around fundraising for pediatric cancer research and assisting the families in need, and we are overjoyed to be in a position to help. But we are also trying to unite the student body while creating an event that is inclusive for the whole community and will last for years to come.”

Penn State’s THON is a 46-hour dance marathon held every February at the main campus in University Park. This year’s THON raised $10 million for Four Diamonds.

Illustration from www.audio-luci-store.it via Creative Commons.