Students volunteer behind the scenes to help THON succeed

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Although Penn State’s THON Weekend (Feb. 20-22) is just days away, THON is much more than just a weekend of fun under the spotlights. More than 3,000 Penn State student volunteers across 15 committees — not to mention thousands more representing colleges, campuses and student organizations — are making their final preparations after meeting intensively since last fall. THON Weekend is the time to see all their hard work pay off “for the kids” and their families fighting pediatric cancer.

In 2014, the Penn State Dance Marathon, or THON, raised a record-breaking $13.34 million through THON Weekend, exceeding the previous year’s total by more than $1 million and bringing the total support for Four Diamonds at Penn State’s Hershey Children Hospital to $114 million since 1977.

More than 300,000 webcast views were generated in 2014 across the globe and more than 9,500 people watched the final moments via http://thon.org and other online live streams. This year, 708 dancers representing all of Penn State’s campuses will face the challenge of the 46-hour no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon again in the University’s Bryce Jordan Center (BJC).

However, THON is much more than just a weekend of fun under the spotlights. In fact, most of the committees started planning as early as last September.

OPPerations

Andy Koffke, OPPerations director for THON 2015, says he has enjoyed working behind the scenes.

“It’s not about being recognized,” Koffke said. “It makes you feel good just seeing smiles from the children and knowing everything you’ve done is worth it.”

As the backbone of THON Weekend, the OPPerations committee — whose name is reminiscent of the University’s Office of Physical Plant, also known as OPP — is in charge of all physical preparations, maintenance and teardown in the BJC to make sure everything goes smoothly through the entire 46-hour event. Committee members will be at the BJC in the early hours of Friday morning, laying floor mats and more, and remain until hours after the event concludes on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 22, coordinating closely with all the participants. For facts and figures related to preparations, maintenance, teardown and other THON-related figures, click here.

“We also try to implement the sustainability initiatives of Penn State, making sure our waste management works efficiently and trying to reuse things for next year if possible,” Koffke said.

As an architectural engineering student with a nature of attention to detail, Koffke said his experience with THON has provided him a valuable opportunity to learn about leadership and management skills that will follow him into his future career.

Hospitality

Jennifer Mills, serving her second year as the Hospitality director, says she has learned a lot from her journey in THON. Her experience with three different committees — Special Events, Donor and Alumni Relations and Hospitality — has provided her different perspectives and a better understanding of the overall effort of THON.

“I think the leadership you grow in THON is really valuable in that you are not only leading people in day-to-day responsibilities but inspiring them to achieve incredible things with our organization,” Mills said. “I have always tried to maximize my ability to make an impact, which is how I became more and more involved over the years.”

As a chemical engineering major, Mills said she tried to balance her academics and involvement with THON, which helped her gain essential time-management skills.

Her committee works closely with donors across the nation, developing relationships and organizing all the supply chain logistics, or delivery of goods, for THON Weekend and its other events throughout the year. Members of the Hospitality committee will serve all the meals for 708 dancers and visiting Four Diamonds families during THON Weekend.

“The committee captains worked hard to get us some new donors this year,” Mills said. “And we’ll send them handwritten letters of recognition at the event to thank them for their help.”

Dancer Relations

Forty-six hours without sleeping and sitting is not easy for the dancers. And 20 captains overseeing 720 members of the Dancer Relations Committee — renamed in 2014 from Morale Committee — are dedicated to supporting the dancers in many different ways throughout the year.

“We paired up the dancers with volunteers who will provide them entertainment and support their well-being throughout the THON Weekend based on their interests and personality,” Victoria Brauer, director of Dancer Relations, said. “We provide a lot of workshops to educate the volunteers and help them build up their relationships with the dancers during the year.

“We are currently busy sorting out all the dancer mail,” Brauer added. “Usually each dancer will receive one to four care packages from their parents and friends.”

With a degree in human development and family studies, Brauer is excited to join Teach for America, where she will continue applying her passion for working with people.

Christopher Schmidt, who has been on the Dancer Relations committee since his freshman year under the recommendation from his residence hall assistant, said that each year THON Weekend had gone far beyond his expectations.  

“To me it means so much more than just a weekend. It means helping kids fight cancer, it means making them smile at events all year long, it means having a positive impact on the world around you, and after all this happens, it culminates into the kind of weekend every kid dreams they had every weekend of their lives,” Schmidt said. “It’s so amazing to see so many college students stand together for a weekend all for the kids.”

Attending THON

Visitors who plan to attend THON Weekend are reminded of the following admissions details for the Bryce Jordan Center. Additional details are available at http://thon.org/blog/2014/11/20/thonweekend2015update/:

— A digital line management system tracking the arena’s capacity requires all entrants to wear a digitally coded bracelet.

— When the BJC reaches capacity, a digital queue for entrance will begin forming to allow those in the queue to wait in a safe and convenient location. Admittance will be offered to those in the digital queue in sequential order according to bracelet number.

— The Bryce Jordan Center’s bag policy for events will be followed. Spectators may bring in small purses, fanny packs, drawstring bags, diaper bags, and medical bags, all of which are subject to inspection. Large bags, backpacks, totes, or coolers will not be permitted inside the facility.