Mini-THON is a philanthropic event at Lower Merion that supports the Four Diamonds program, which works to raise money to help fight and conquer childhood cancer. Mini-THONs are held in highschools across Pennsylvania and are modeled after the THON event held at Penn State every year. THON was started in 1973 by a group of college students and has now grown into the largest student run philanthropy event in the world. Fundraiser events are planned throughout the year in advance of THON, contributing largely to the final amount raised at the end of the weekend. The event itself features many groups, bands, dance performances, and sports teams. Along with those spectacles, there are many games played throughout the forty-eight-hour event. Group favorites like ‘Jeopardy’ and ‘Family Feud’ are featured, along with more secluded video games and trivia games.

LM decided to start hosting their own mini-THON in 2024. The idea started with Natalie Hillis ’24 in Spring of 2023 when she was elected Vice President of Student Council and one of her campaign promises was to start a mini-THON at LM. This year marks LM’s second annual mini-THON. It is run by the student council cabinet members, with the Underclassman Committee Heads, consisting of Annabel Bailey ’27, Charlotte Marsh ’27, and Gabe Newsome ’27. Bailey states that “[the committee] started planning for mini-THON in September.” They organized monthly fundraisers in school such as Krispy Kreme, Honeygrow, and multiple Lunch & Learn basketball tournaments. The main source of funds were raised through Donordrive, which is a website connected to Four Diamonds that allows students to donate individually. The underclassman committee worked tirelessly throughout this year to bring a fun event to the school and community around us.

Kendall Tickle ’27, who attended mini-THON, remarked, “It was a great event and you could tell how much the kids enjoyed it and the hard work that was put into it by Student Council.” Face painting stations, along with coloring activities, and games every hour were featured throughout the event. There were food stations providing pizza and snacks along with a bake sale, donated to by various students, that provided all proceeds to Four Diamonds. By the end of the night, 5,717 dollars were raised, more than doubling the amount raised from the previous year, with funds collected from this and prior fundraisers. The focus of mini-THON is to give the community an easily accessible way to donate to childhood cancer. Marsh said after the event, “To me, mini-THON is a way to bring together the community by involving elementary aged kids along with highschoolers. It helps everyone in the community that attends feel as if they are part of something bigger that will add to the overall impact of the Four Diamonds Foundation.” By including people of different social circles the committee has been able to spread awareness of both the fundraiser and Four Diamonds across our community.

Bailey said later, “I was very happy with the outcome of the event but I think as mini-THON continues at our school we can continue to make it bigger and better every year!” Marsh added, “I hope this event can become the new “norm”. When people think of mini-THON I want it to be exciting.” The students in charge of running the event this year along with Student Council sponsor Sean Capkin, have high hopes for the future and what mini-THON will become with time. When asked about his goals for the future of mini-THON, Capkin said, “[We] want to find creative ways to get more students to the event and to get more groups like the cheerleaders, dance team, and drill team involved. We advertised extensively for three months, so we need to find different ways to grow our attendance.” Everyone involved has high expectations that the students following in their footsteps will continue to make this event more successful as the years go on.