Boyertown >> Twelve hours, hundreds of students and thousands of dollars. This is what Boyertown Area Senior High students are offering Friday night and Saturday morning to the families of children battling cancer.
For five years running, students at the school have organized Mini-THON, a microcosm of the Penn State University behemoth fundraiser. While Penn State’s THON took place Feb. 20-22 in State College, the students at Boyertown are still gearing up for their own chance to dance all night for a good cause.
“We ask them to stand for all 12 hours, that’s really our only rule, to stand and be active, be positive,” said faculty advisor for Boyertown’s event, Jeff Kusniez. “We have recommendations like eat when we give you food, drink lots of water, after all it is 12 hours and we want them to stay hydrated and carb up so they have the energy to be up overnight.”
They are not alone. Students at Phoenixville Area and Owen J. Roberts high schools will be hosting their own Mini-THONs this weekend as well, both of which are on their third year.
Close to 300 students have signed up to participate in this year’s Mini-THON at BASH. Taking part means being in the BASH gymnasium from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday, awake and staying on your feet. There will be plenty of dancing, but there are also games, food and sports to keep students on their toes.
“The only thing we ask is try to keep standing. That represents the kids who are fighting cancer. They can’t take a break from fighting, so neither should we,” said Erica Mabry, student chair of the event.
In the first four years of hosting the event, Boyertown students have raised $104,000 for Four Diamonds, which provides support for children with cancer and their families. The first year BASH threw the event, it raised $13,000. Over the following three years, that number has more than tripled. In 2014, the total was $37,009.58.
“I’m always very proud of them, to watch them do it every year and we’ve increased every year,” Kusniez said.
The participating students fund raise in a plethora of ways leading up to the event. Some place cans in local restaurants, others take to the internet to set up campaigns. In groups, they hold bake sales and seek out community support. The Mr. Boyertown pageant at the school each year also benefits Mini-THON.
“My favorite part is definitely when the numbers go up at the end, seeing how much us and the school as a community has raised for this cause, it brought tears to my eyes last year,” Mabry said. “Knowing we can help these kids in the littlest ways. Just by giving a dollar, you’re helping to pay for their chemo therapy treatments, their hospital rooms, even a juice box. Every little bit helps.”
The students encourage the community as a whole to get involved as well. The event will be broadcast on the school’s public access channel. Progress can also be monitored and donations can be made at the Boyertown Mini-THON page, which can be found on fourdiamonds.donordrive.com under the Mini-THONs tab. Phoenixville’s and Owen J. Robert’s pages can be found there as well.
Mabry said she is confident this year’s event will raise more money than those in the past, and that she is happy to be making a difference for families dealing with cancer, and an impact on the future.
“When I am older and have kids of my own, and my kids ask me, ‘What’s this thing called cancer?’ I want to say ‘Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. We took care of that while we were dancing.'”
