We are... Doing it for the kids!

I apologize for the lack of posting, the past week has been insane for me and there was just no time. Between my crazy work hours lately and going to CT this weekend, I'm exhausted and want to spend the next couple of days in bed. Too bad I'm working at 3pm today until close.

As you guys know, both Dave and I are Penn State graduates and have a huge family support system of past Penn Staters, both in our relative families and friends. This past weekend was something called Penn State Dance Marathon, or THON. It is the largest student-run philanthropic event in the world. THON is a dance marathon where students gather at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, PA to dance for 46 hours straight in order to raise money for the Four Diamonds foundation, which helps families with children who suffer from pediatric cancer. The foundation also works to fund research for those who are trying to find a cure for this horrible disease. The students are not allowed to sit for the entire 46-hour period. This event is incredibly important to Dave and me. Dave was a campus chairperson for THON while attending Penn State and I've been a THON supporter from my first year at Penn State.

This year, THON raised $12,374,034.46 for the Four Diamonds foundation, breaking $100 million mark of money raised since 1977, which was the first year of THON. Every year, this number gets larger and larger and I couldn't be more proud. One day, we are going to find a cure for childhood cancer and Penn State is going to be part of that success. That isn't why I'm proud, though. I'm proud because the student body of my school has adapted this event as part of their culture and everyone is passionate about it. As a school, we realize that there are things out there bigger than us and we are doing our part in the best way we know how.

I'm bringing this up because as a person who is persevering through their own fight of health (but nothing close to the magnitude of pediatric cancer), I realize that everyone has their fight. The fight of pediatric cancer is a specially unfair one, but also a fight we are determined to win. Penn Staters have adapted an acronym that is now synonymous with THON - FTK - which stands for "For the Kids." It's a simple saying that sums up why it is that we dance to raise money for pediatric cancer. The families that are supported by Four Diamonds attend THON, as well, and it gives their children a sense of normalcy and joy - a weekend to forget about the fact that they are sick and just have fun.

To learn more about THON or to donate money and contribute to next year's total, please visit www.thon.org.