Donations Welcome!

The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, affectionately referred to as THON, is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. It began in 1973, when a small group of dedicated Penn State students held the first Dance Marathon. That year, 39 dancer couples participated and raised $2,000. Since then, THON’s presence in the Penn State community has grown exponentially. THON now has 15,000 student volunteers, 700 dancers, and is a year-long effort by extremely dedicated students that raises funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. THON has raised more than $69 million, benefiting The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Children’s Hospital. See the THON 2011 video below:



The Four Diamonds Fund was established by Charles and Irma Millard after the death of their son, Christopher, who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 11. Because of THON’s support, The Fund is able to offset the cost of treatment that a family’s insurance won’t cover, as well as provide for other expenses that may affect the welfare of the child. It also supports the medical team that cares for the children and funds pediatric cancer research through start-up grants and the Four Diamonds Pediatric Cancer Research Institute. Below is a video about the Four Diamonds Fund:



This is our first year as a THON family. We were paired with one of the many student organizations that make up THON, and our organization (Penn State Altoona campus' THON group) has used Collin and his fight against brain cancer to be their inspiration to raise as much money as possible. There are six students from Altoona THON who will be dancing for Collin during this year's THON weekend, February 18-20. The dancers will dance for 46 hours straight, without sitting or sleeping. We are very excited to attend our first THON, and will be there all weekend to cheer them on.

Please consider joining the fight against pediatric cancer by making a donation to THON. Any amount is a big help. Donations can be made easily and securely online. Click this link to go to THON’s secure donation page. Complete the required information. To make sure that Collin's fund-raising group is credited with your donation, under the subtitle “Gift Amount/Designation” please choose Altoona from the drop-down box. If you prefer to send a check, it can be made out to Penn State Dance Marathon, and you can write Altoona #165 on the memo line. Checks can be mailed to Penn State Dance Marathon, 210 HUB, University Park, PA 16802.

Together, we’ll make a difference in the life of a child.

FTK....For The Kids!!