By: Maribeth Connolly ’19 (Immaculata House), Madison Oliverio ’19 (Loyola House), and Naomi Tegene ’19 (De La Salle House)

Mini-THON is a student-led, year-round fundraising initiative benefiting Four Diamonds, a nonprofit organization which covers 100% of treatment costs for children battling pediatric cancer at Penn State Children’s Hospital. Along with covering treatment costs, Four Diamonds also funds groundbreaking research for a cure which is shared and valued within the cancer research community. It has raised over $150 million which has helped around 4,000 families and provided innovative breakthroughs in pediatric cancer research.

Through the joint fundraising efforts of students, parents, faculty, and our Trinity community, Trinity mini-THON has raised over $500,000 benefiting Four Diamonds in the past 9 years. This tremendous milestone has been reached through active participation in fundraisers, including:

• • Chipotle night
  • annual FT5K in the fall
  • Mr. Mini-THON
  • weekend canning at locations
  • soliciting business donations/sponsorships
  • raffling donated items
  • feeder school support through dress down days

The night of mini-THON is the culmination of the year-long planning and fundraising efforts of the THON Committee and the Trinity community. Mini-THON is a themed, 12 hour no-sleep, no-sit dance marathon. Kick-off is at 8:00 p.m., when a Four Diamonds family joins us to speak on the impact our efforts have made on their lives. After that, various activities for the students begin. The night is filled with raves, tournaments, inflatables, competitions, and performances. Food is also donated for all 12 hours by local restaurants. Students are encouraged to set personal fundraising goals and reach out to family and friends to fundraise, while being rewarded incentives for the night-of. If students raise $85, they gain access to the Dog Room to play with therapy dogs from the Caring Hearts Pet Therapy throughout the night. Another incentive is a VIP room that includes amenities such as ice cream, video games, couches, and more, which students gain access to by fundraising a minimum of $125. Finally, 12 hours later, at 8:00 a.m, the total is revealed.

THON is a highly anticipated event for students at Trinity. Trinity recently gained recognition for this, winning the highest student body participation award out of all mini-THONs in 2018, with a participation rate of over 95%. We are so proud to have such an involved student body and school community that works together toward a common goal: to beat childhood cancer.