Penn State Thon Question

[Nanners52674]

Having gone to a school that never had a dance marathon I have no clue how it works. I know they have people who dance the whole weekend but do they ever get a break? Or am I just horribly confused on how it all works?

[Nanners52674]

Anybody?

[KerriMarie]

I'm not familiar with Penn State's Thon, but Florida State has a huge Dance Marathon that is a major philanthropy for the Children's Miracle Network. At FSU, people aren't dancing the entire time - it's 40 hours! However, dancers do pledge to stay awake and on their feet that entire time, which is pretty amazing. It's a fun atmosphere with silly costumes and music and dancing.

[DoctorD]

I remember someone posting this documentary about it a few years back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyIoIWc8Ihk

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by DoctorD

I remember someone posting this documentary about it a few years back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyIoIWc8Ihk

I believe that may have been me

Yes, the dancers (all 700+ of them) stand/dance for the entire 46 hours. The idea is that kids with cancer don't get a break, so why should the dancers?! The only "break" they get from being on their feet is if they do the slides of strength:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WJVLak_lbC8

And when they use the bathroom, of course! But I think they even have to go with a buddy so that they don't "cheat"

THON is a year-long fundraising and planning effort involving 15,000+ students, making it the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. It just ended last weekend, and within the next week or so, they will already start forming committees and selecting people for leadership positions for THON 2017.

If you have more specific questions, feel free to ask! I know I'm not the only Penn Stater on these boards, so perhaps others will answer as well. For more information, you can always visit the website at thon.org.

ETA: THON by the numbers: https://onwardstate.com/2016/02/20/t...y-the-numbers/