Katie Mailey is where she wants to be as she wraps up her fifth year at Penn State. As executive director of THON 2016, she is in the lead role of the world’s largest student-run philanthropy.
She’ll see the work she did the past 11 months with all the committees, volunteers, and dancers culminate February 19 to 21 at the Bryce Jordan Center when the 46-hour event to raise money for the Four Diamonds Fund occurs.
Originally from Hudson, Ohio, she became involved with THON during her freshman year through her business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi. Through older members of the fraternity, she learned about THON committees, and she applied to be on the finance committee during her sophomore year. The next year, she became finance captain and danced in THON. Last year, she served as the finance director.
Her love of THON, which has the theme Believe Beyond Boundaries this year, has encouraged her to apply for a new position every year.
“My reasons for applying every year have changed and shifted, but it has always been about my passion for THON. I love this cause and I love what we are able to do every day, and I really wanted to give back to this organization,” says Mailey, an accounting major who took over as executive director last March. “I’ve gotten so much out of it just through my experiences and the things that I have learned and the relationships that I’ve built — and now I’m able to give back more and to continue that for students, families, and Hershey [Medical Center], and Four Diamonds.”
THON has been raising money for the Four Diamonds Fund, which helps families with children who have cancer, since 1977. Last year, the event raised more than $13 million, and it has raised more than $127 million since 1977.
Mailey wants that success to continue this year and well into the future. When she took over as executive director, she told OnwardState.com that one of her goals was to focus on the sustainability of all aspects of THON.
“Part of what I love about THON is you spend all this time helping people that are never really going to be able to thank you, and I love that we’re able to help so many people, whether they’re a Four Diamonds family or somebody that is impacted by the research that happens out at Hershey [Medical Center],” she says.
Actually, during her junior year, she did receive a memorable “thank you.” While Mailey was dancing on the Bryce Jordan Center floor early Sunday morning, the father of a Four Diamonds child approached her. While she was extremely tired, Mailey smiled and the man told her how much he appreciated her efforts and that it meant so much to him and his daughter, who had cancer.
“I think my favorite part of THON is when you see somebody smiling, whether it’s a student, whether it’s a child, whether it’s a parent, and you know you are making a difference in their lives and you can take them away from whatever it is, such as the hospital,” she says. “I love seeing all these little kids running around looking up to these big kids they have grown so close with.”
For more information about THON 2016 or to make a donation, visit thon.org.
