Observing our world from the middle-aged cheap seats, I can recite a litany of reasons to not love what I see. School shootings, freak and destructive storms, crazy political rancor – it can all make a gal a little despondent. However, in the spirit of this upcoming Valentine’s Day, I would like to instead share that hope – and youth – springs eternal and is most certainly thriving in a place called State College, PA.
This month (February 21 – 23, 2014) something will happen at Penn State that is nothing short of remarkable. Thousands of students will stay awake and on their feet for 46 hours straight; all united in working toward the sole purpose of supporting the fight against pediatric cancer.
A bit of background: THON is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. That’s right: all STUDENT-LED. The THON website notes that back in 1973 the first dance marathon raised $2,000. Now, over forty years later, THON encompasses over 15,000 student volunteers, 700 dancers, and has raised more than $101 million, benefiting The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.
To read more and support THON, continue to Kim Dalferes’ blog, The Middle-Aged Cheap Seats. Kim and her husband will donate $1 for every comment on her post, so please save your comments for her blog. Thank you!
Kimba Dalferes
Kimba Dalferes is a native Floridian, but currently pretends to be a Virginian. She is an accomplished king salmon slayer, estate sale junkie, and sometimes writes books. She is currently working on the sequel to her first book “I Was In Love With a Short Man Once.” This next book, “Magic Fishing Panties” will be out in 2015. She divides her time between Fairfax and Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia with husband Greg and occasionally her son Jimmy; when he is home from college. She also hangs out in The Middle-Aged Cheap Seats .
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