Students, families and staff at Montgomery Elementary School participated in a big event for a great cause on Saturday, February 2 as Montgomery put on its 6th Annual Mini-THON, raising more than $20,000.
The event was held at the Montgomery Township Community and Rec Center from 8:30 am until 8:00 pm to benefit The Four Diamonds Fund. Students, staff and families were joined by surprise, special guest Merrill Reese, play-by-play radio announcer for the Philadelphia Eagles on SportsRadio 94.1 WIP-FM, at 3:30 pm.
A group of Montgomery staff chair members having been working hard behind the scenes since shortly after the finish of Montgomery's 5th Mini-THON event in February of 2018. Tasks to get this event running range from recruiting sponsors for food to feed the students, setting up donations, planning fundraising initiatives, prioritizing student safety, collecting and organizing registrations and T-Shirt orders and much more. Dozens of Montgomery staff members and parent volunteers will be on hand during the big day to help coordinate activities keep the children engaged and safe.
The Mini-THON is based on the Penn State Dance Marathon, the largest student-run philanthropy in the nation where dancers and organizations raise money for The Four Diamonds Fund. The Four Diamonds Fund offsets the cost of treatments for children battling pediatric cancer which is not covered by insurance. It also helps with emergency expenses and supports the medical team that cares for children with pediatric cancer at the Hershey Medical Center. It funds research through the Four Diamonds Center for Pediatric Cancer Research and Pediatric Cancer Experimental Therapeutic Programs.
In addition to the event on February 2, Montgomery held additional fundraising initiatives for the Four Diamonds Fund since September.
During the mini-THON, students were expected to stand for the entire length of their event. There was a DJ for dancing as well as other activities including "minute to win it" games, obstacle courses, Zumba instruction, blanket making and an assortment of games.
Students in Kindergarten through third grade participated in mini-THON activities from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm and students in grades four, five and six took over from 3:00 pm to 7:45 pm. The evening concluded with a grand reveal of $21,356.04 raised for the Four Diamonds Fund.
While several high schools across Pennsylvania hold their own Mini-THONs, Montgomery Elementary is one of only a handful of elementary school across the state participating in this event. Montgomery Elementary families and staff have raised over $168,112 for the Four Diamonds Fund to date.
Click here to see more photos.