On March 19, LM hosted its third annual Mini-THON in the Down’s Gym. This event was organized by Student Council to help fundraise money to support the Four Diamonds organization, which helps to fight childhood cancer.
Four Diamonds’ Mini-THON program derives from a Pennsylvania State University tradition, which began in 1973, called the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON). The event consists of a 46-hour marathon with hourly dancing and thousands of students in attendance, with the ultimate goal to raise money to support cancer treatments. However, fundraising does not solely take place throughout the 46-hour marathon; college students work all year to raise money through bake sales, community events, and donation drives. At the end, the total money raised for the event is revealed, highlighting the year-long hard work to secure the donations for the fundraiser.
Because of this famous and impactful tradition, Mini-THON fundraisers began to occur at the high school level to help further fund the cause. In 1993, Hershey High School established the first Mini-THON at a less grand scale, but still with the same passions for fundraising.
This year’s Mini-THON at LM occurred around a month after Penn State’s, and shared similar traditions such as dancing, games, and the grand reveal of the total money raised. Unlike the first two Mini-THON’s hosted at LM, this year’s was the first to occur immediately after the school day, which was a great convenience to students.
To prepare for the event, the Student Council cabinet collaborated with their Underclassmen Committee, which consists of Emery Davis ’28, Audrey Fisher ’28, and Sarah Milby ’28. The Underclassmen Committee has played an important role since LM began this annual tradition in 2024. Davis mentioned, “We began meeting several weeks before the event occurred to plan everything out. We decided how much food we would need [and] how we would decorate the Down’s Gym, came up with multiple games, got a DJ, and most importantly, discussed how we can get more of the LM student body to attend.” Fundraising for the event came through simple yet effective strategies such as sponsors and a QR code posted for students to submit donations. Milby stated, “We prioritized DonorDrive as our main fundraiser, which is a super awesome way of raising and anyone can get involved and help support! That is where most of our donations came from and encouraged lots of students to engage in the cause!”
As per the event itself, it welcomed students with an energetic atmosphere filled with music from the DJ and free merch. There were blue and white balloons, signs, and tables for activities such as card making and coloring. Davis explained, “Though it took some time for students to warm-up and start dancing, once they did, the atmosphere was super fun and positive.” The Mini-THON lasted from 3:15 p.m. to 7 p.m. with games every half hour such as musical chairs, knock out, and name that tune. Fisher mentioned, “There were people playing basketball, video games, catch, and coloring. Every hour on the half hour mark, we would do a dance to the Cupid Shuffle in which everyone would join,” which was very reminiscent of the Penn State tradition.
At the end, the total amount raised was revealed in similar fashion to the THON at Penn State, with members of Student Council holding up board cut-outs of each number for the total raised, revealing LM’s Mini-THON raised $8,253.93 for the Four Diamonds foundation. This was nearly doubling their total from the previous year, and a very impressive feat. Davis expressed her gratitude saying, “The outcome this year was great and hopefully the event will continue to grow each year.”
