Penn State students raise record $5.2 million for pediatric cancer

[Patiod]

At the Interfraternity/Panhellenic Dance Marathon which was completed at 4pm tonight. Biggest student-run philanthropy in the world.

The money benefits The Four Diamonds Fund, which helps children with cancer at the Penn State Children's Hospital in Hershey.

Damned impressive - these kids work most of the year raising this money - both with traditional methods (extorting dollars and quarters from motorists at intersections all over PA) and from begging money from local companies, holding raffles, etc.

[Patiod]

1. Thread no good without pictures

Chris Berry holding Tucker Haas, 4, Matt Giarratano (senior-journalism) and Tony Rauso celebrate a very emotional conclusion to Thon 2007 at the Bryce Jordan Center.


Dancer Jay Thomas (sophmore-rehabilition services) gets ready to do the Macarena early Sunday morning. Jay Thomas is an amputee with a prosthetic leg and said he hopes dancing all 46 hours will inspire the kids at Thon.


Collen Scott, 8, hangs out with the big kids at Thon Sunday morning.


===============
All the kids at 'Thon are kids benefitting from the Four Diamonds Fund, kids getting cancer treatment at Hershey Medical Center.

[Oeditpus Rex]

7. I wonder if this is somehow connected

to John Cappelletti (Penn State, Heisman Trophy '73) and his little brother, Joey, who had leukemia.



Here's part of Cappy's Heisman acceptance speech. Get some Kleenex.

http://www.johncappelletti73heisman.com/videos/cappelletti.mov



Crap. Meant to reply to OP, but what the hell.

[Patiod]

10. Nah, it was started in 1972

just to pump up the image of the Greeks - the money went to a Down's Syndrome organization at the time. Within a year or two, one of the organizers heard about the Four Diamonds Fund, started by the parents of a boy who had died of cancer, a kid who had written a moving story entitled "The Four Diamonds" about a knight who was engaged in a battle. They thought it might be a good Pennsylvania cause for the Dance Marathon

The choice of cause has made all the difference - the rallying cry has been "for the kids!" and when we used to go out begging every year, we found that it is not too hard to separate people from their money when you tell them
1) it's for cancer
2) it's for childhood cancer
3) it's for a Pennsylvania institution
4) it's not for research (a bottomless pit) but for services for the families (and now for an entire pavilion in the hospital just for pediatric oncology)

The Capelleti story is quite the tear-jerker, though!

[JVS]

8. They are a credit to Pennsylvania!

[Skittles]

2. absolutely wonderful

:thumbsup:

[Scooter24]

3. Incredible...

And well down students!

Is there a link to a story?

[Patiod]

6. Why, yes! Yes there are links!

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/

[Redstone]

4. These damn kids these days...

must be a pretty good bunch, after all.

Redstone

[Burma Jones]

5. Thanks for posting this

see, people ARE good.

[Dastard Stepchild]

9. How incredibly inspirational...

Way to go Penn State students!

[ulysses]

11. how is mine the first rec?

:thumbsup: Thanks for this, Patiod.

[Phillycat]

12. Fantastic!

I teared up a little reading that story at the link you provided. What great kids. It just shows, if given a little direction, teenagers are motivated, passionate activists.

[Patiod]

13. I get teary every year from the family stories

It's not just the money, it's about how delighted the kids are -- the kids undergoing chemo AND their little siblings. They look forward to 'Thon every year, and get visits throughout the year from the sororities and fraternities who have "adopted" their family. The little ones get a kick out of visits from "the big kids".

Before the Four Diamonds Fund (and in most instances outside Hershey Medical Center) a diagnosis of childhood cancer not only devastates the family emotionally, but very often breaks them financially.

For families at Hershey, every dime that's not covered by insurance is picked up by the Four Diamonds Fund. Long distance phone calls (since cell phones aren't allowed in the hospital), transportation (some families drive 2 hours each way to get there from upstate PA), medical supplies - anything that's not covered.

At some point, there was enough in the fund to cover every single family 100% (currently something like $45 million has been raised over the years), so a portion of each marathon now goes to funding the construction of a pediatric cancer wing at HMC.

[Phillycat]

14. Wow.

That is amazing. Thanks for all that information! I am really impressed and amazed.

[Patiod]

15. Promo for this year's 'Thon on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np6elB0U3SU&mode=related&search

It's Joepalicious.

$5.2 MILLION DOLLARS just for 2007!!!

[bigwillq]

16. That's so cool.

Props to them

:bounce: