A year of fundraising and 46 hours of standing and dancing ‘For The Kids’ has come to a close.
THON 2016 raised an incredible $9,770,332.32 for the Four Diamonds Fund, which supports children undergoing treatment for pediatric cancer at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and funds research in the search for a cure.
The total decreased for the second straight year after two canning weekends were cancelled by THON, but even so, thousands of student volunteers raised millions for the kids. This colossal amount adds to an already nine-figure total of $127.9 million raised since THON’s inception in 1973.
Charles Millard, the founder of the Four Diamonds Fund whose son Christopher passed away from cancer in 1972, spoke to the crowd before Family Hour.
‘Chris said, ‘If I die, I want to come back as a wizard and make people well,’ so we will do that and make his dream come true,’ he said.
As always, the final few hours of THON brought a rollercoaster of emotions, with Family Hour bringing plenty of tears to the Bryce Jordan Center, while the final performance from Go Go Gadjet had everyone in attendance on their feet, dancing and singing along to a high-energy set.
With THON 2016 officially coming to an end, the journey to THON 2017 and the effort to raise money in the fight against pediatric cancer starts today.
