No Sitting or Sleeping: For the Kids

This past weekend was quite a weekend of making a difference. But, for students at Penn State, it was nothing more than the 37th annual THON. Each year, PSU students set out to raise money to help beat pediatric cancer. In fact, it is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. This year 708 students were chosen to "dance" at THON. In other words, they can't sleep, sit or have caffeine for 46 hours straight. Why? All to celebrate the amount of money we raised for the kids.

I was not one of these dancers, but I decided to dance in the stands with the rest of the crowd. After an early start Friday morning at 7 a.m., I hoped I would have a chance to get a short nap before heading to THON, which began at 4 p.m. Unfortunately, I didn't get that chance, so I danced for 46 hours, plus spent another 11 or so awake. To most people, this might seem unreal, but the energy and the experience of giving back is enough to thrive on to make it through.

This year we raised $7,838,054.36.  In all, we have raised more than $68 million for the Four Diamonds Fund. It is truly a celebration and I'm so happy to be a part of it. FTK

Things I learned:

• Eating every 3 hours helps, but after 40 hours you begin to forget--lession: Always have someone there to remind you.
• Don't take advantage of foot massages too often--you become dependent and your feet begin hurting more
• Keep your feet moving and your blood flowing--walking helps significantly
• Cold air (aka going outside) doesn't always wake you up--when you come back in you feel that much warmer, which usually makes you tired
• When you start having disillusions and everything becomes a blur--Don't text or call people because it's probably the middle of the night
• Fruit is a very powerful item to consume
• Don't think you're going to be even a smidge productive during THON (even at the beginning) or after THON.