The State College Mini-THON will hold a day of fun and activities to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital in honor of a State College Area High School student battling leukemia.
The Mini-THON and State High Student Council are hosting Driving 4 Diamonds Buick Blitz and Fun Fair from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Park Forest Middle School. The event is being held in honor of Maryann Newcomb, a State High Senior who was diagnosed with leukemia in January. Newcomb participated in the Mini-THON while she was a student at the middle school.
The day will include Buick test drives, with the opportunity to help earn up to a $10,000 donation from the vehicle company. The more people who take test drives, the more money that will be raised.
Other activities include a ‘backyard pentathlon’ competition, bake sale, face painting, student arts and crafts festival and puppies to pet.
The State College Mini-THON is a yearlong fundraising effort by State College area middle school students. Modeled after the Penn State Dance Marathon, Mini-THONs raise money for the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey to support pediatric cancer patients and their families, as well as cancer research. Nearly 300 schools in eight states hold Mini-THONs, according to THON.
More than $326,000 has been raised in eight years by the State College Mini-THON. This year’s effort will culminate in a seven-hour dance marathon, from 5 p.m. to midnight, on April 28 at Park Forest Middle School
