BELLEFONTE — Students danced away the afternoon May 13 at Marion-Walker Elementary as they raised money to support children with cancer during the school’s third annual Mini-THON fundraiser.
The school raised more than $5,000 that will go directly to the the Four Diamonds Fund, the same charity that benefits from Penn State’s IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, commonly known as THON.
But although this was a smaller-sized dance marathon, the enthusiasm and spirit were large, as students and teachers all seemed to be having a great time dancing in a hot gym, not forgetting what the goal was.
“The dances and activities we did are really fun, and everything is for the kids who are sick, so it’s really important,” said fifth-grader Amry Yearick.
The school set up many different ways to raise money for the charity, according to teacher and event co-organizer Jennifer Carroll. There were in-school candygrams, sales of Mini-THON merchandise and dining events at local restaurants where a percentage of the bill was put toward the charity, along with donations gathered by the students for dancing. Carroll said the whole process teaches the kids that it is important to help others.
“We believe the kids learn that when you give selflessly, you receive even more in return,” said Carroll. “Life lessons learned are the best.”
Tiffany Guiswite has two children at the school, and she said they gained a lot from the activities leading up to the dancing, such as making cards for kids involved with Four Diamonds.
“The were pretty excited to write an inspirational message to a kid dealing with cancer,” said Guiswite. “And it is great as a parent to see the kids want to get involved and do something for someone else, especially with children in our community who have been involved with Four Diamonds.”
One of those children was fifth-grader Noah Benner, who had brain tumors removed when he was younger. He said he was having fun dancing for other kids who were going through similar hard times that he dealt with. Marion-Walkers Mini-THON was started three years ago in response to Noah’s struggle and involvement with the Four Diamonds Fund, making it a personal issue for the whole school.
“For the kids! For the kids!” was chanted loud from the students as they danced. And even though they were just kids themselves, they were there to make a difference for others in difficult situations.
