Quincey Reese, Editor in Chief
Several Penn-Trafford students have been working towards the production of a Mini-THON since the end of last school year. Based on Penn State University’s THON, the event is intended to raise money for children with pediatric cancer.
The organization Four Diamonds helps schools plan Mini-THON events for their students, according to Four Diamonds Associate Director Gail Frassetta. She said she acts as the liaison between the organization and the schools she is working with to plan the event.
The goal of Four Diamonds, as Frassetta said, is to end childhood cancer by paying for all of its patients’ medical bills not covered by insurance, funding a variety of care providers to improve the overall well-being of its patients and innovating cancer research.
Frassetta added that she speaks at assemblies to encourage students to become involved with the directing of a Mini-THON in their schools. From here, she meets with the student leaders to generate fundraising ideas and to explain to them how Four Diamonds’ resources can help them throughout the process.
Harrison Park Elementary teacher Megan Cumberledge, however, was the first to suggest the start-up of a Mini-THON event at P-T. After discussing the possibility with English teachers in the district and assistant principal Amy Horvat, Cumberledge contacted Four Diamonds.
“When attending Penn State, my family went through the loss of my grandpa [to cancer], and THON was a way I could help raise money for this awful disease,” Cumberledge said. “I wanted to continue to volunteer and raise money for this amazing cause when I came to Penn-Trafford.”
Co-Directors Erin Brady and Jonathan Heinbaugh, P-T seniors, have led the student planning of Mini-THON since the project began in May of last school year. Their main jobs are to lead the team meetings, head the set-up for a variety of fundraisers, put on presentations for the school board and to manage all of the general planning.
Brady said her interest in the medical field and wish to start helping people is what spurred her interest in leading Mini-THON.
Heinbaugh similarly found an interest in helping people, in addition to finding a leadership position which would suit his abilities.
“I thought my talents would be best suited in a position where I’d be talking to the most people because not everyone is comfortable being open and going up to people, so I thought I could help in that way,” Heinbaugh said.
To kick off the fundraising for the event, they, along with a group of 13 other students, organized a day for PTHS students to visit with therapy dogs at the end of the school day. They sold bracelets as admission for the event.
Brady said that the team has since hosted a “gold-out” during one of the football games, where they sold gold t-shirts, buttons and stickers. They have also organized a car wash, other t-shirt sales, a basket raffle at one of the boys’ and girls’ soccer games and a partnership with the Introduction to Administration and Management class t-shirt project. For this, Brady worked with the class’s teacher, Kim Stefkovich, to make the t-shirt sales benefit the Four Diamonds cause.
In the team’s efforts to involve the community in the fundraising events for Mini-THON, Brady said that gaining participation was one of the main struggles they faced.
“Getting the community to be involved [was a challenge]. All of the money benefits kids battling pediatric cancer, but getting people to follow through with donating and participating in our events was difficult,” she said.
Heinbaugh said that ensuring each person on their team was following through with their responsibilities was also difficult at times. Having a relatively large group working towards the same goal meant that communication was a top priority, according to Heinbaugh.
Aside from the Co-Directors’ standpoints, the other team leaders also faced challenges and tasks specific to their role. Finance Committee Captain Tyler Horvat, senior, said that making sure the money they were raising was all accounted for proved to be quite the undertaking.
Horvat added that he did not initially understand the full scope of his job, but gained some perspective on the meaning of his responsibilities after visiting a children’s hospital during a field trip through Four Diamonds.
“At first, I thought my job was just going to be to count money, but after that hospital visit, I realized it means much more than that. It has really taken it to another level,” Horvat said.
Cumberledge said the hospital visit was a truly “eye-opening experience” for both the students and herself. During it, they got the chance to talk with some of the doctors, tour the hospital, visit a cancer research lab and come to understand the impact that their work will have.
Heinbaugh also said that being involved in Mini-THON has helped him in ways beyond the realm of the project.
“I feel so much more confident with getting something started and completing it. Before, I just don’t think I would start something and then complete it. It just wasn’t in my nature,” he elaborated. “Knowing that I’ve been able to do something a lot bigger has made everything else seem a lot easier.”
Mini-THON will be held on Feb. 2 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. It was switched from a 12-hour time slot to four hours because of the liability issues present with some students not being able to drive past 11 p.m. while on their junior driver’s license, according to Brady.
Horvat, however, said he hopes to see Mini-THON continue at P-T and possibly become a 12-hour event in future years.
“I hope that everyone has a good time and that we can create an event that ultimately will keep going here at the high school and have a legacy,” he said.
Tickets are $20 at the door, but students can also purchase them for $15 during all lunch periods until Feb. 1. The event will have a variety of activities for students to participate in, including dodgeball, karaoke, a cornhole tournament and a dance with a DJ. The theme for the event is MORP.