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Student Council at Thon

Tyrone High School hosted it’s first-ever Mini-Thon on Friday, January 3 to raise money to fight childhood cancer.

Thon began at Penn State in 1973 and is currently the largest student-run philanthropy in the world.  It raised over $10.6 million dollars last year and culminated in a 46-hour dance marathon.

Mini-Thons have since gained popularity in high schools throughout Pennsylvania, and this year Tyrone’s Student Council helped bring its first one into existence.

“Mini-Thon is a really great cause. It meant a lot for us to be able to raise so much money for childhood cancer patients and their families,” says student council member Emma Getz, “I hope we can continue this in the following years to keep helping the kids.”

Student Council was responsible for organizing and planning the Thon festivities while other clubs including NHS, YAN, Golden Revolution, and Prom Committee helped participate to make the night a success.

“I think it was amazing to see how hard some of the student council members worked to make the event happen. I also loved to see how many students came out to the event to make it a success and work together to earn over $1800 for childhood cancer,” said Student Council advisor Tiffany Smith, “It truly was amazing to see the kids join together for a common goal and help to fight childhood cancer together.”

The night began with an alumni guest speaker Olivia Adams talking about her younger brother Tanner’s battle with childhood cancer, and about what the organization Thon did to help cover costs.

She also spoke about the impact Mini-Thons have on the actual organization since 10% of Thon’s revenue comes from Mini-Thons.

Students were then released to the activities available for the remainder of the night. The activities included a tie-dye table, a photo booth station, tabletop escape boxes, candy and refreshment tables, prize raffles, and a DJ for a dance in the cafeteria. The gym was also opened for students to play basketball, nitro ball, and tailgate games.

“I liked Thon a lot, it was super fun and a great way to raise money for the fight against cancer,” said sophomore Thon attendee Zack Lash.

Each activity cost money to participate in and the entrance fee at the door was $5. Student Council students also sold Pura Vida bracelets and would donate the profit to Thon as well. The bracelets will be on sale until January 22nd and cost $5 each.

At the end of the night, the raffle prize winners were announced. Prizes included gift cards, a fire stick, and air pods.

They also announced the amount of money raised which was $1,800 to donate to combat childhood cancer.

“Thank you to everyone who came to Mini-Thon or supported Mini-Thon in any way. It was a really great event for a great cause and I can’t wait to have an even better event next year,” said Student Council President Mattie Cherry.