This year IHS is gearing up for the return of an in-person Mini THON. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, 2020’s Mini THON was canceled and 2021’s Mini THON was held online. This year Mini THON is being held in person on March 24, 2022. To register there is a website (IHS Mini THON)  and the cost is $15 for the early bird sign-up. 

The sign-up dates are Early Early bird – January 10th and 11th ($10), Early bird – January 12th through February 1st ($15), regular bird – February 5th through March 1st ($15), and late bird – March 2nd through March 24th ($20).

The four team colors for IHS Mini THON are Blue, Green, Pink, and Purple. The team captions for each team can be found on the IHS leadership Instagram account @ihsleadership or the new Mini THON website that holds all information about Mini thon. 

What is IHS mini thon? “IHS Mini-THON is organized by IHS Leadership Seminar and is inspired by Penn State’s annual THON, a 46 hour dance marathon that benefits The Four Diamonds Fund, a charity that directly supports families of children with pediatric cancer.” IHS Mini Thon website @ihsminithon.org

When you sign up, a diamond shape piece of paper is then put on your locker. Whatever color the piece of paper is, is the color of the team you are on.

“Mini-THON is an annual event that is hosted by IHS Leadership. It is a smaller version of Penn State’s THON where they stand for 46 hours. We begin planning in November and work endlessly until the day of to create the best event possible. The money that we raise goes to the Four Diamond Foundation. This organization was founded in Hershey PA and its main goal is to help families with any emotional or monetary support post-cancer diagnosis. They help pay for therapies, treatments, events, as well as cancer research.” Senior Margaret Lowery states. 

There are many different captains for each team. Lowery is a team captain for the Pink team and feels her team is a very strong team, “I am a captain of the Pink team and I personally think that our team is really strong. Each person in the Leadership Seminar is a team captain so I think that all of the teams are very strong; there is not one team that is stronger than the others. We are so excited to see how many people are signed up for Mini-THON even though they have never seen it in person.” 

Senior Anna Margita is a team captain for the Green team and is most excited for the reveal of how much money was made to help those who are diagnosed with cancer, “I am most excited to reveal the total at the end of the night. I can’t wait to see the end result of how hard we worked to help those who are diagnosed with cancer. It will be emotional, but very rewarding.” Along with Lowery and Senior Isaac Myers who is also most excited to see how much everyone raised, “I am most excited to see the total at the end of the night. We (Leadership Seminar) have already worked so hard on this event so seeing how much we raise will make it all worth it.”