Kutztown Area High School held its first ever miniTHON from 7 p.m. this past Friday until 7 a.m. Saturday morning.
The miniTHON was a microcosm of The Pennsylvania State University’s “THON,” which is an event that raises money for the Four Diamonds Fund, a charity that benefits pediatric cancer research and assists families with children that have cancer. The event was held at Kutztown Area High School with more than 160 participants from grades 8-12.
Initially this event was a dream, but with the motivation of a few key Student Council players, the community’s involvement, and the excitement from students, the event came together amazingly well.
The night was opened with words by Michelle Lengel, and her mom, Brenda Lengel. Michelle is a student at Pine Grove High School and is currently undergoing treatment for cancer. They discussed what Michelle has been going through as well as how the Four Diamonds Fund has helped the family and the importance of the contribution by the kids from Kutztown.
They were followed by Caroline Vink, a member of the Class of 2012 at KAHS. Caroline is currently a student at Penn State University and is very active in their THON. She read a letter from another Four Diamonds family.
The words of the families motivated the students greatly as they started their night. The final portion of the opening ceremonies featured two students, McKenna Yob and Hannah Sanders, donating their hair to make wigs for kids dealing with cancer treatments.
Throughout the night, the students participated in a multitude of activities. They learned a special line dance that was performed repeatedly throughout the night. They exhausted themselves running through a giant inflatable obstacle course. They played hockey, soccer, whiffle ball, volleyball, and dodge ball. Others did karaoke, played board games, painted a special banner, and played video games. There was also dancing all night long with music provided by DJ Nate Dietrich. There was also a huge amount of food with a special pasta dinner donated by C.J. Hummels Restaurant and served by members of Kutztown Strong, a group that supports activities for students to keep them away from drugs and alcohol.
Another special aspect of the night was a ceremony dedicating the event to Mrs. Pizzuto, a teacher at Kutztown who passed away a few short weeks ago. Pizzuto participated and danced at THON during her years at Penn State and was so excited that KAHS would be holding a mini-THON. She had planned to be there for the entire event. Student Council advisor, Sue Mixa, and graduate, Caroline Vink, both shared heartfelt words about Mrs. Pizzuto and what she meant to them and the school. This was followed by a touching tribute video and encouraging words from Mrs. Pizzuto’s mother, Linda Smith.
Despite being exhausted and suffering from sore feet, the night was an overwhelming success. The fundraising goal set by Four Diamands was $8,000, but that was well exceeded and the final total was… $21,258.75. The students are looking forward to exceeding that number next year.
