Development and Alumni Relations

Road to THON dinner stirs anticipation, hope for THON 2009 in February

University Park, Pa. — More than 350 Penn State student THON volunteers, Four Diamonds Fund caregivers, donors and friends of Penn State's Dance Marathon gathered Jan. 29 for the Road to THON Celebration dinner at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.

View pictures from the celebration online at http://live.psu.edu/stilllife/1948.

The dinner was held just three weeks before the start of THON 2009, Feb. 20-22, 2009, at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center, where more than 700 dancers and more than 15,000 Penn State students will celebrate the culmination of their annual effort to raise millions of dollars to support research and care for children with cancer. In 2008, THON raised more than $6.6 million dollars for The Four Diamonds Fund.

The 2009 THON overall committee honored several outstanding advocates in the fight against pediatric cancer and heard touching words of inspiration from Scott Challis of the Courage for Life Foundation and father of the John Challis, a high school baseball player whose upbeat attitude during his battle with inoperable liver cancer inspired the creation of the Courage for Life Foundation. ESPN featured John's story in a video segment in 2008.

Visit the newly redesigned THON Web site, which includes a secure link to donate to THON as well as a THON store — with products whose purchases also benefit The Four Diamonds Fund, as well as $5 raffle chances to win a 2009 Suzuki SX4 All Wheel Drive Crossover, a cruise for two to Bermuda from Norwegian Cruise Line, a Dell Latitude E4300 laptop or other prizes  — at http://www.thon.org.

 

Click on the image above to see photos from the Road to THON 2009 Celebration. Visit thon.org to make a secure online donation to THON and learn more about THON and The Four Diamonds Fund. Credit: Jill Shockey / Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated November 18, 2010

Contacts