THON may be the biggest and most anticipated weekend of the year according to Penn State students. Throughout the entire school year, organizations fundraise miraculously, establishing themselves with a family that has a child affected by pediatric cancer.
Developing close relationships with those in their THON orgs, becoming close with the THON family, and, of course, standing for the 46-hour marathon are all tough, but extremely rewarding aspects of THON. If you didn’t get a chance to be involved with THON this year and would like to search for ways you can be next school year, here are a few ideas.
- Join a Special Interest Organization
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This is probably the easiest way to become involved with THON if you would like to surround yourself with people in an organization that are there only for THON. Some popular organizations include ATLAS, LIMITLESS, FOTO and APOLLO.
They fundraise all throughout the year, and it’s incredibly easy to meet new people, become close with the THON families and really hone in on wanting to participate in this event at Penn State. Each special interest org has different groups and sizes of people, so you can pick which one you’d fit into the most.
- Join a THON Committee
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Serving on a THON committee is a big-time investment throughout the year in order to ensure that THON runs as smoothly as possible. To name a few of the committees, some include Rules & Regulations, Dancer Relations, OPPerations and Donor & Alumni Relations. To see the 17 student-run committees, a quick search or looking at any of Penn State’s prominent newspapers is an easy way to become familiar.
- Join a Club Sport
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Not only are club sports a great way to engage with people throughout the year as there’s a common interest, but most sports include a THON org. Club Cross Country, one of the biggest club sports here, raised third in the most amount of money with a whopping $144,901.88 in terms of general organizations. Each org has specific, unique events for their sport of interest to showcase their support for THON and their love for what they do.
- Being involved in Greek Life
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Sororities and fraternities have a large time investment within THON. They are notoriously known for having THON families, hosting formal events and fundraising thousands of dollars towards the cause. This doesn’t just include social sororities and fraternities, but also co-ed pre-professional fraternities, and service greek organizations.
There is something for everyone. If you’re interested in business, Alpha Kappa Psi, Delta Sigma Pi, Pi Beta Lambda etc., are all great options. If you’re interested in medicine or healthcare, Phi Epsilon Kappa or Alpha Epsilon Delta are great choices. Or, if you just want to be a part of organizations that focus heavily on THON strictly, Epsilon Sigma Alpha and Trilogy are service-focused.
- Join An Academic-Based Club or Service Club
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If you’re extremely academic focused but still want to be a part of THON, being a part of an academic-based or service club may be right for you. Student Red Cross Club, Remote Area Medical and more, are all service groups that host events for THON throughout the year. Academic groups such as Psi Chi Psychology Honors Society, Kinesiology club, etc., all have their own THON orgs.
THON is a great way to bring everyone together, as we are all fighting for an important cause of fundraising for pediatric cancer. It’s a time of being able to bring hope and joy to THON families while standing in the fight for a future where pediatric cancer no longer exists.