Dylan Selbst
Editor
New Hope-Solebury High School’s 2nd Annual Dance Marathon, known by students simply as THON, kicked off on Saturday, Jan. 11. Students and alumni danced for 12 hours and raised over $7,000 for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The event began at 8 p.m. and started no differently from a regular school dance. However, at 10 o’clock, all non-participants were sent home and only those on a THON team were allowed to stay.
After only THON participants remained, they enjoyed food donated to them by community members and local businesses such as Giuseppe's Pizza and Fred’s Breakfast. After eating, many games and activities were organized to keep everyone enthusiastic throughout the 12 hours. These activities included a dodgeball tournament, volleyball, frisbee, basketball, handball, and, of course, dancing. The marathon concluded with the announcement of the winning teams for both “the greatest amount of time on the dance floor” and “the most money raised.”
THON is organized by New Hope-Solebury High School’s student government and is modeled from a similar program run by Penn State. Former New Hope-Solebury High School Student Body President and founder of NHS’ THON, McKenzie Cloutier, visited this year’s THON and was more than pleased with the turnout. McKenzie stated: “It was so rewarding and exciting for me to learn that the Student Government was hosting THON for a second year... I was so excited and proud of everyone when I heard that THON raised $1,000 more this year. I’m hoping its an event that will continue to grow and get better every year.”
THON is indeed growing in both the number of participants and the amount of money raised. With more teams and over $1,000 more raised for the Children’s Hospital, students look forward to an even larger and better THON in years to come.
