Students swarmed the Conestoga gyms on March 13 as Mini-THON Planning Committee (MTPC) hosted their 11th annual Mini-THON event.
Conestoga’s annual Mini-THON, organized by MTPC, is a four-hour event filled with games, food and dancing to raise money for the nonprofit Four Diamonds, a pediatric cancer organization. This event is a smaller scale of Penn State’s THON. Four Diamonds funds innovative pediatric cancer research and assists families facing pediatric cancer through financial support. Members of MTPC spend many months in preparation for this event, collaborating with local businesses as well as planning fundraisers throughout the year like donut sales, the student-faculty volleyball game, Candy Grams, Dollar Dash, Pi Day and the new 5k.
“It’s really meaningful and inspiring to see an organization and a bunch of highschoolers work together and support each other to make a difference,” said Grace Yu, freshman and member of MTPC.
Mini-THON started off with a performance from Conestoga’s drumline, followed by a rundown of the event from the MTPC overalls, or main leadership members. Students paid $20 for early bird registration or $25 for regular registration to attend and support the event, and food, shirts and games were free. After the opening ceremony, students broke off into different groups to enjoy activities such as yard games, coloring, face painting, yoga, open gym sports, karate and bingo.
“I liked playing three-on-three basketball,” sophomore Patrick Malone said. “I thought that was very fun.”
At the start of every hour, students would head into the small gym to participate in THON-inspired line dances to popular songs like “Lush Life” by Zara Larsson and “The Fate of Ophelia” by Taylor Swift. Students watched MTPC members dance at the front of the gym to student-choreographed dances, then replicated the dances themselves.
“I like how everyone’s really into (the dancing), we all know the dance, and we’re all passionate about it,” senior Henry Kogan said.
At the end of the night, MPTC leadership brought everyone back to the small gym and announced the students who raised the most money on DonorDrive, Four Diamonds’s online donation platform, and awarded them with certificates. Afterwards, MTPC leadership revealed the total amount of money raised this year. The school raised a grand total of $43,089.44, a record-breaking amount for Conestoga Mini-THON, and almost double the $25,565.13 raised last year.
“It’s (Mini-THON) a really crazy experience,” said Lily Zou, senior and MTPC overall. “I’ve been part of this organization for four years, so being able to beat our total by that much was insane. It’s really gratifying (to see) all the work that our entire Planning Committee has put in, and it’s all ‘For The Kids.’”
Check out some photos from the event below!
Lea Ukpere can be reached at [email protected].
