Feb. 22, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After countless hours of fundraising and preparation, 10 members of the Penn State student-athlete family, as part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB), will be among the nearly 700 dancers this weekend at the 36th Annual Dance Marathon (THON).
The largest student-run philanthropy in the country, all proceeds raised through THON benefit the Four Diamonds Fund, which supports families with children who are battling cancer at Penn State's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center's Children's Hospital. THON 2008 will mark the second year that the event will be held in the Bryce Jordan Center. The event begins on Friday, Feb. 22 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 24. Dancers participating in THON are not allowed to sleep nor sit during the 46-hour span.
Over the past seven years, SAAB has raised more than $182,000 for the Four Diamonds Fund, including over $17,000 last year. SAAB will again have several dancers participating in THON including women's soccer players Kaleen Adami and Zoe Bouchelle, women's volleyball players Kara Callahan and Kate Price, cheerleaders Alison Bush and and Kelly Serra, and Lionettes Julie Berardi, Jolene Lusterman, Mandy Poole, and Alyssa Rumbaugh.
"Kay, Kara, Kate and I are so fortunate to be chosen to represent SAAB this year and to help support all of the THON families," said Zoe Bouchelle, a senior midfielder on the defending Big Ten champion Nittany Lions.
"I don't think anything can possibly prepare us fully for the next two days. It's going to be tiring, we know, but more than that, it's going to be fun, emotional, and one of the greatest experiences of our time here in State College. I cannot wait for the next 46 hours to start."
SAAB members are also involved in committee work to help the event in the planning and operation of the event. Field hockey's Jen Miller and Allison Scola are serving as finance captains, women's lacrosse's Linsey Shea is a communications captain, and Lionettes Nicole Bautz and Jessica Hartman are merchandise captains while teammates Kelly Silvis and Caitlin Donnangelo are involved as entertainment and rules and regs captains, respectively.
Student-athletes at large will also participate during student-athlete hour as well as in a pep rally, long a treasured part of THON tradition. SAAB's THON family, the Messinas, will be in attendance throughout the weekend.
"Last weekened, the Messinas invited a group of us over to their house and cooked us an amazing meal," added Bouchelle. "Meeting them and spending time with Isabella and Jack has been the highlight of this whole experience leading up to THON. They're such amazing kids and are part of an incredibely strong family, so we feel honored to be out there on the floor for them."
SAAB's participation in THON is part of the enrichment of the student-athletes' community service and personal development disciplines through the Nagle CHAMPS Life Skills Program. The CHAMPS Program is about the development of the whole person and focuses on the commitment of success in the following areas: athletics, academics, personal development, career development and community service.
"Each year we try to describe to the incoming freshman what THON is all about, but it is truly something you have to experience to understand the tremendous impact it has on those involved," said Assistant Life Skills Coordinator Sarah Krupp from Penn State's Morgan Academic Support Center for Student-Athletes. "It's an amazing opportunity for students and student-athletes across campus to give so unselfishly and to affect others in such a positive, meaningful way.
"We are always so proud of the student-athletes' efforts to give of their time and energy to fundraise, to support the dancers and SAAB's THON family, to participate in the student-athlete hour and pep rally and to even dance and be on committees. THON is an inclusive activity and it really is Penn State."
Since 1972, THON has raised more than $46 million for the Four Diamonds Fund, which provides direct financial aid to patients' families and other support services. THON organizers are in the midst of a six-year pledge of $10 million grant to create a pediatric cancer pavilion at the hospital. This gift will revolutionize the way the Four Diamonds Fund can implement the family centered care that has cured so many children.
For more information on Dance Marathon or to make an online donation, visit www.thon.org.
SAAB DANCER NUMBERS
Kaleen Adami - Women's soccer (58B)
Julie Berardi - Lionettes (77A)
Zoe Bouchelle - Women's soccer (58A)
Alison Bush - Cheerleading (195A)
Kara Callahan - Women's volleyball (59B)
Jolene Lusterman - Lionettes (77B)
Mandy Poole - Lionettes (78A)
Kate Price - Women's volleyball (59A)
Alyssa Rumbaugh - Lionettes (78B)
Kelly Serra - Cheerleading (195B)
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