South Fayette High School students set a new record with the 2024 Mini-THON raising $338,205.15! The reveal was incredibly emotional as many students, faculty, and staff began to cry with the realization that they had succeeded in surpassing the prior year's total which was a national record, of $336,140.10. The big reveal took place after 12 hours of dancing, games, and celebrating at approximately 5:45 am on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
This was South Fayette's 12th year hosting Mini-THONs, and the district has raised approximately $1.8 million for Four Diamonds, an organization dedicated to the fight against pediatric cancer at Penn State Children’s Hospital. Four Diamonds covers the cost of treatment that insurance or other means do not cover. The organization also helps with other emergency expenses for the families of children battling cancer, as well as pediatric cancer research aimed at finding a cure and more gentle treatments.
Modeled after the annual 46-hour dance marathon, THON, at Penn State University, Mini-THON empowers K-12 students to serve as leaders in the fight against childhood cancer. Students who volunteer as part of their school’s Mini-THON program fundraise throughout the year for Four Diamonds and cap off their efforts with a grand celebration.
What sets South Fayette apart from the other 200 schools that participate in Mini-THON, besides the hundreds of thousands of dollars students raise, is how it is embedded in the high school’s curriculum. This most ambitious and anticipated fundraising event of the year is the capstone of Mr. Brandon Flannery’s Honors Management and Marketing Applications course. In this second-semester, senior-level course, students rely on their critical understanding of event management, promotion, ticketing, corporate sponsorship, and fundraising to plan, manage, and market Mini-THON. From recruiting participants, developing sponsorship packages, soliciting donations, managing social media, to planning a 12-hour event, Honors Management and Marketing Applications students do it all. In 2023-24, due to growing popularity and successful outcomes, 41 seniors signed up for the class, requiring Mr. Flannery to need a co-teacher, therefore Mr. Gary Smith led a second section of the course.
The senior chairs for the 2024 Mini-THON were: Paige Westbrook, Julianna Rossi, Marissa Stock, and Tim Danziger. Other students in the Honors Management and Marketing Applications course included: Nischal Alemada, Conrad Beck, Nathan Belculfine, Sydney Burns, James Casillo, Adam Caye, Lily Colombo, Nathaniel Deanes, Alexandra Delaney, Brady Fleck, Anna Fraps, Michael Gimigliano, Ella Green, Erica Hall, Avery Hawranko, Kaylee Hendricks, Dylan Janoski, Katherine Kelly, Noah Knox, Sarah Kornacki, David Kyle, Nico Lamonde, Sarah Logan, Gianna Mantick, William McCormack, Dominic Monz, Aditya Patel, Aadya Reddy Pesara, Ryan Pirain, Michael Plasko, Cella Pusateri, Olivia Renk, Julianna Rossi, Gino Satira, Veerendra Senthil, Adam Thompson, Sydney Westfall, and Lainey Yater.