It was another record-setting year for Penn State’s THON and its fundraising efforts to support pediatric cancer patients and research.
THON 2024 raised $16,955,683.63 for the Four Diamonds at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, the student-run philanthropy revealed on Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center. The announcement came following the conclusion of the annual 46-hour dance marathon that began at 6 p.m. on Friday, the culmination of a year of fundraising efforts.
The total surpasses the previous record of $15,006,132.46 million set in 2023.
Celebrating its 52nd year, THON has now raised more than $235 million since partnering with Four Diamonds, ensuring that no pediatric cancer patient family at Penn State Children’s Hospital receives a bill. It has assisted more than 4,800 families while helping to build comprehensive care services for patients and families and the hospital’s childhood cancer research enterprise.
“This is 52 years of work and building and growing, and 52 years of families being helped and generations of students working together and generations of donors from our community, alumni and individuals who show up every year with their hearts wide open wanting to help these children and these families,” Four Diamonds Executive Director Suzanne Graney said on Friday.
Beyond treatment, the funding supports a range of services such as child life specialists, art and music therapy, clinical nutrition, psychology and family social programs. In recent years, the support has enabled the creation of a survivorship clinic, one of only a few in the nation, to provide a personalized plan of care for each child, genetic testing and counseling and mentoring programs to provide support for parents.
More than 700 official dancers, along with thousands of supporters and Four Diamonds families, took part in the weekend event, but THON has grown to become a year-round endeavor that includes 16,500 student volunteers.
Throughout the year there’s a 5k, a 100 Days ‘Til THON celebration and a family carnival. Student organizations are paired with families and form close bonds over years of spending time together on visits, at tailgates, at Little League games and much more.
“Those experiences, those memories that they cherish, those are not going to be represented in whatever that figure is,” THON 2024 Executive Director Will Vincent, a fifth-year mechanical engineering student, said at the start of the weekend. “Obviously we are very proud of what we are able to provide financially, but all year long the support, the experiences, the memories, all of that is to support our families and that’s a big part of our mission is that emotional support, and being sure they know they are supported, they have this entire community behind them.
“They’re going through treatment, they’re going through that battle, but they have a community of 16,500 volunteers here in State College in their corner fighting for them every step of the way. Those experiences are really reminders of that.”
