High school raises more than $44,000 for 11th annual Mini-THON
Indiana Area Senior High School’s annual Mini-THON event is a tradition 11 years in the making. This year’s event was held on March 29 and involved one- third of the student body, not to mention an amazingly generous community.
The IHS Mini-THON is an official part of Penn State’s Dance Marathon, where the student body participates in a number of athletic and non-athletic competitions. All the money raised goes to Four Diamonds, an organization out of Penn State Health Children’s Hospital which seeks to end childhood cancer. Indiana Area Senior High School is a relatively small school with an enrollment of 850 students, but that did not stop them from raising the most ever by IHS in its 11-year history, more than $44,000!
The event is 100% student -led by a group of 24 seniors enrolled in IHS Leadership Seminar, which is made up of student leaders from all around the school who represent a wide variety of organizations, including Science Club, Key Club, Student Government Association, FBLA, Drama, the Senior Class, Ambassadors, and numerous other programs and activities in which students are involved. The students in the Leadership Seminar course spend months raising this money, soliciting donations from local businesses, encouraging team members to bring in change, designing and ordering t-shirts, and ultimately writing and sending thank-you notes.
One of the key aspects of the event is that students do not sit down. This is to represent the struggle that children and families who are afflicted with cancer have to go through every day. There are no breaks, and this is the students’ way of representing that.
A portion of the night is also dedicated to reflection. This year there were two local speakers who came in and talked about their personal experience with cancer and why what students are doing matters. Then the students walked down a wing of the hallway to see luminary bags lit with names of individuals affected by cancer in our area. There were hundreds of names. “It was inspiring and heartwarming,” noted 10th grader, Quinn Martineau.
The evening also included a wide variety of activities for the more than 270 student participants, such as volleyball, gaga ball, ping pong, tug of war, and charades. Life Skills students even joined in for an hour of fun and games as well. “The Leadership class went above and beyond this year, in everything — the activities, the food, and clearly the total. Mini-THON is something I look forward to every year and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this event,” said 10th Grader, Allie Rutledge.
Ultimately, all of the proceeds go families for ensure that every Four Diamond kid — regardless of income — never has to see a bill for their hospital care. The child has cancer, but Four Diamonds recognizes that it is a struggle for every member of the family, so the foundation helps the siblings and the parents get through the disease together.
The teacher-advisor for the annual event is Devon Duffy. This year’s student chairs were Ella Spadafora and Chase Cunningham. “I’m really proud of my friends. I get to see them do something amazing,” said 12th grader Alley Bush.