Good news - college kids raise $4.2 mill for pediatric cancer

[Patiod]

This weekend's Penn State dance marathon broke last year's record and raised $4.2 million - the largest student-run fund raiser in the world. Proceeds used to go to support the families of children with cancer who were being treated at Hershey Medical Center. But the students raised too much money - all the families were taken care of -- so now the funds are also building a pediatric cancer pavilion at Hershey.

Although the whole university is involved, most of the fund-raising is done by those awful, elitist fraternities and sororities. Yeah, they might be a hotbed of drinking and partying, but a hell of a lot of hard work goes into raising $4.2 million (last year it was $4.1 million)

[KitchenWitch]

1. "WE ARE...PENN STATE"

Not an alum, just familiar with the chant!

:thumbsup:

Way to go Nittany Lions.

[PittPoliSci]

2. a friend of mine's really involved in thon.

I'm glad they did good work, I wouldn't doubt that he probably helped out in aa significant way.

[Patiod]

3. Some touching stories about the families they are helping:

"They stared up toward a stage and saw the children who are beneficiaries of The Four Diamonds Fund, the organization supported by THON that helps to cover unpaid medical expenses for pediatric cancer victims. The children were the reason for the aching feet and knees, and with the 48-hour marathon complete, the children held the tangible result of the dancers' commitment on 11 poster boards, with numbers drawn on each. Slowly and deliberately, they held up each number, revealing the total raised this year: a THON record $4.2 million."

"A speech by Katie Austin -- a high school senior, cancer survivor and Four Diamonds beneficiary -- provided particular poignancy. To a crowd of at least 5,000 dancers and observers, she told her story of leukemia diagnosis at 12, the remission of her illness thanks to THON and her plans for a future she wouldn't have otherwise seen. "When it came time ... to think about college," she began, her sobs oddly making her voice more authoritative, 'I only applied to one school.'"

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06051/658246.stm
http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/02/02-20-06tdc/02-20-06dnews-19.asp
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/02/20/dance.ap/