READING, Pa. — The Penn State Berks benefitting THON student group raised an impressive $51,662 toward THON 2016's overall total, ranking third among Penn State campuses in fundraising. In total, THON raised $9.8 million for the Four Diamonds Fund.
Short for the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, held Feb. 19-21 at the Bryce Jordan Center at University Park, THON is a 46-hour, no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund, which supports families battling pediatric cancer.
This year, Penn State Berks was invited to send a record six dancers to THON, based on the previous year’s fundraising efforts. This year’s Berks student dancers included senior Katarina Zambanini; juniors Carly Barbour, Michael Serago Jr., and Harrison Welsh; and sophomores Kaylee Grindrod and Charles Miller IV.
Penn State Berks benefiting THON achieved its total through a mixture of fundraising activities throughout the year, including fundraising nights at local restaurants, late night skating events at the Body Zone Sports and Wellness Complex, a fashion show, Cuts for Kids events, blood drives, dances, a pie-in-the-face fundraiser, and Vera Bradley/sports bingo, as well as weekend canning drives throughout the community.
The Berks County Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association presented a check for $4,000 to the Berks benefitting THON organization at the dancer send-off. The donation was the result of the participation of the students with various alumni events held throughout the year, including the Reading Royals Night, which was sponsored by the Berks County Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association and the Reading Royals on Feb. 3.
For more information about Berks benefitting THON, contact Alexa Wojciechowski, staff adviser, at 610-396-6335 or atw3@psu.edu.