Now that Mini-THON 2017 is over, and $53,644.48 was raised for the Four Diamonds Fund by Big Spring alone, it is important to see where the money is going, and who it is benefiting.

Knowing where the money goes is important in order to continue fundraising even after Mini-THON. By hearing stories and seeing the Fund’s impact, people can rest assured that their money is going to a good cause.

Evan Moyer and Trey Fry, two students in the district, have been helped by Four Diamonds. Evan Moyer’s mom, Angie Pittenger Miller, described at the opening ceremony of Mini-THON how the Four Diamonds fund has supported them. “They have paid 100% of all cancer-related treatment that’s not covered by insurance. They provided meal tickets when Evan was in-patient, which has been about 77 times. They also provide meal tickets when we go down for monthly chemo treatments. They help pay household bills, and more importantly, then fund research for better treatment for our kids, that has less side effects and better chance of survival than the one they do now.”

Not only does the Four Diamonds Fund use the money raised to help students in our district, but also helps many other cancer patients who have been treated at Penn State Children’s Hospital. 

Directors of the fund sent Student Council members a list of ways that the money we raised is able to support the kids. For $1,500 a day, for over 35 days, a team of Specialized Nurse Coordinators are able to manage patient needs. For $1,000 a day, for over 53 days, a team of Social Workers are able to dedicate all their time to the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology population. For $750 per experiment, there are over 71 experiments in labs looking for a cure. For $150 a day, we can provide aver 357 days of ongoing treatment for a Leukemia patient. For $25 an hour, we can provide over 2145 hours of music therapy to assist the children with pain management and developmental learning. Each of these options will support a child with cancer.

On Thursday April 13, Student Council members Jenna Brobst, Kaylee Enck, Madison Frick, Bailey Lehman, and Melanie Macioce will travel to Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital to meet the Four-Diamonds staff. They will tour the hospital, and see how the money raised at Mini-THON is supporting the fund.

Big Spring was not the only local high school to raise money for the Four-Diamonds fund. Cumberland Valley raised $151,467, Lower Dauphin raised $107,347.39, and Boiling Springs raised $51,722.31, all for the kids. Penn State College hosts THON (which Mini-THON is based off of), a 46 hour dance marathon, that raises money for the Four Diamonds Fund. This year, THON raised $10,045,478.44 for the Fund.

“I’m sure there are a lot of ways [to support Four Diamonds],” Student Council president Bailey Lehman said. “I know there is a corn hole tournament every summer run buy the Fry family that raises money, and even donating at other schools’ football games is a good way to donate in the off-year.”

Student council is writing up reports and creating a Mini-THON binder to document the resources used, and begin preparing for the next Mini-THON in 2019. Many of those participating in Mini-THON this year might have thought it was fun, but might not completely understand the difference they’ve made for this cause.