It was glitter and glow sticks galore inside the Pennsbury High School West gymnasium on the evening of Saturday, Feb. 22. More than 250 teens, all decked out in tutus and tie-dye, danced to the sound of Top 40 hits that radiated through the building’s many hallways.
No, this wasn’t some new-fangled colorful prom. This was Pennsbury’s annual MiniTHON, the high-energy culmination of students’ fundraising initiatives for Four Diamonds – an organization that covers 100 percent of all medical expenses for childhood cancer patients at Penn State Children’s Hospital.
For eight straight hours, the high schoolers were on their feet, participating in choreographed dances, games like “Name That Tune” and tug-of-war, and enjoying a catered breakfast and lunch provided by area restaurants.
They also heard from families who had a child suffer from cancer, which served as a reminder to the students of the event’s purpose.
During the last hour, from 7 to 8 p.m., the big “reveal” of the total raised was displayed on large, white cards. After achieving $65,000 in 2019, Pennsbury set a 2020 goal of $70,000. The gymnasium erupted in thunderous cheers and applause when the final amount of $72,879.98 – a record – was announced.
According to MiniTHON overall chair Carissa Van Veen, a junior who has been involved since her freshman year, the money was collected over the span of several months.
“We started in about May or June planning different fundraisers and events. We had a homecoming dance that raised money this year and a bunch of other fundraisers throughout the year,” she said.
Additionally, Pennsbury middle schools held their own MiniTHON at Charles Boehm on Jan. 31. Edgewood, Quarry Hill and Makefield elementary schools hosted smaller versions throughout February.
“We’re working to get the whole district involved,” Van Veen said. “It’s a district-wide effort to raise the money, not just up at the high school level.”
Van Veen, along with co-overall chair Jami Tomczyk (12th grade) and other committee members, had a longer day than most – 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., to be exact, due to the setup and cleanup.
But Van Veen intends to do it all again during her senior year.
“It was tiring, definitely,” she said. “I was so busy preparing for it and running everything that I didn’t sit except for driving to the school. But it’s all worth it in the end, and you’re so busy throughout that you don’t even notice the exhaustion until it’s over.”
For MiniTHON adviser Meaghan Cappelloni, a mathematics teacher, it was a thrill to see her students’ efforts come together in the end.
“There’s a lot of them that really put in time and effort, especially for the fundraisers that we have throughout the year. There are some committees that are much more active leading up to MiniTHON than they are at the actual event itself,” she said. “And just to see them shine that day and how they interact with adults in our community and parents and other students, they’re a really mature, responsible group of students. They learned a lot about leadership and communication, and I think that will carry them far in their future.”
Visit phsminithon.com/ for more information. Pennsbury’s MiniTHON was held in conjunction with Penn State’s large-scale THON weekend, Friday, Feb. 21 through Sunday, Feb. 23.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
