Family Relations

The Family Relations (FR) Committee has the incredible honor of working closely with the families of the Four Diamonds Fund. The families are the heart of THON, thus the mission of the Family Relations Committee is to keep the families well informed, involved in THON events, and most importantly, provide support to families battling pediatric cancer. By sponsoring programs like Adopt A Family, the Penn Pal Program, and the Penn State Wish program, Family Relations works to build meaningful relationships between the Penn State students and the Four Diamonds Families. In order to create the most enjoyable events and experiences possible for the Four Diamond’s families, FR works closely with the various THON committees. Four Diamonds families participate in many THON weekend events and activities and FR captains are an essential part of the weekend, therefore the FR Committee is not recommended for potential captains who may be dancing in THON 2009.

Administrative Assistant

This Captain is responsible for keeping the committee informed and organized, taking minutes and sending the minutes out to the committee in a timely manner. He or she will work closely with the Overall in helping to organize family registrations and information important to the committee and other individual captain positions on FR. This captain will also take part in educating other committees through a Pediatric Cancer Fact of the Week. He or she will also be responsible for maintaining and organizing the family check in at the Bryce Jordan Center THON weekend. This captain will also be in charge of making a mini-schedule for each family for THON weekend, incorporating family specific engagements. In addition this Captain will assist the overall with creating the Four Diamonds Mailers, that go out quarterly to the Four Diamonds Families.

Family Relations Decorator

This Captain is responsible for providing decorations for all Family Relations events and activities throughout the year such as Harvest Day, and the decorations for the Family Lounge in the BJC THON weekend. This Captain is also responsible for creating any posters or other signage, or oversized banners as needed for the committee. They will also make cards throughout the year for the Four Diamonds children’s birthdays and have them signed by the rest of the committee. This Captain will also work with Supply Logistics to obtain all the materials FR will work with throughout the THON season.

Family Events Coordinators (2)

This position requires two captains due to the amount of responsibility. The Family Events Coordinators are responsible for recruiting students to participate in the Penn Pal program, as well as organizing said program after students have signed up. They will be in charge of the Variety Show, the Fashion Show, Project SIBS, Teen Night, and Captains in Training, all of which take place THON weekend. They will be responsible for recruiting families to participate in all four of these events as well as coordinating all necessary details for the activities, including working with the Entertainment committee for both timeline and stage time purposes.

Family Projects Coordinators (2)

These captains will be responsible for the organization of any and all family projects devised by the FR committee. Projects include but are not limited to: THON Family Scrapbook, Feature Family Project, Feature Family Posters for THON weekend, Famous Faces Four Diamonds Flipbook, and angel pin distribution during THON weekend. These captains will be responsible for presenting these family projects to various THON committees outside of FR. The primary goal of this position is to provide committees of THON various ways to learn about the Four Diamonds Families.

Family Leader

This Captain is responsible for compiling and organizing family registration forms for the Adopt A Family program and will participate in pairing families with Penn State organizations. This captain will maintain the crucial family database and serve as the primary contact for the Four Diamonds Families. They will be responsible for addressing any questions and concerns that the families may have. This captain will also be responsible for guiding fellow FR captains through the relationships they build with families by helping with phone calls, e-mails, and other important contacts. It is this captain’s responsibility to send out the Four Diamonds Family listserv as well as a Family of the Week story throughout the year. He or she will also organize and run the Parent Info Session THON weekend.

Harvest Day / THON Hoops / Post-THON Coordinator

This Captain will be responsible for the coordination and organization of Harvest Day in early October, THON Hoops, and the Post-THON Celebration. He or she will be in charge of securing a date for THON Hoops and working with the BJC to plan the event. This captain will be responsible for securing the location of the Post-THON Celebration as well as planning an itinerary for the events, working with the FR decorator for decorations and handling all RSVP’s to the events.

Hershey Trip Coordinator

This Captain is responsible for the advertisement, organization and enforcement of all aspects and guidelines pertaining to the student trips to the Penn State Children’s Hospital. He or she will receive the Hershey Trip Applications and arrange the tour trips so that every tour date is filled and the maximum number of people is going. This captain will serve as the primary contact to organizations for scheduling trips, providing all needed information to the organization as well other questions or concerns relating to the trips. They will also coordinate and organize captain volunteering at the outpatient clinic for Special Visitors Days. This Captain will also be responsible for the Gold Ribbon Campaign and working with PR for the 100 Days Celebration.

Hospitality / Welcoming Coordinator

This Captain is responsible for putting together a welcome package to be given to the families upon arrival THON weekend, including directions and maps to their hotels and a map of downtown State College incorporating area highlights. The Hospitality/Welcoming coordinator will work with the Family Relations Decorator to create welcome banners for the hotels where the Families stay THON weekend. This Captain will also be the liaison between Family Relations and Hospitality, and is responsible for pairing the families with complimentary, reduced-rate, or full price hotel accommodations for THON weekend according to the families’ needs. This involves keeping an accurate record of all families’ arrangements and answering any lodging questions the families may have. He or she will also work with Hospitality to plan the meals provided for the families THON weekend.

Morale/ PR/ OPP Liaison

This Captain will be paired with a liaison from the Morale committee to coordinate family involvement in morale activities throughout THON weekend. These activities include but are not limited to: random theme hours, family participation in Color Wars, and Kids Mail Call. This captain will also assist the motivational leader in keeping morale high among the Family Relations committee and work with the administrative assistant on the Pediatric Cancer Fact of the Week. He or she will work with the overall to find families who are willing to participate in media stories and events. This captain will also take care of any OPP requests for events throughout the year.

Motivational Leader

This Captain will be responsible for keeping spirits and motivation high among Family Relations Captains. He or she will start each meeting with an icebreaker, as well as special quotes, stories and other inspiration. This captain is also responsible for sharing inspiration with the rest of the THON community, especially other committees. He or she may attend other committees’ meetings to motivate other captains. He or she is responsible for FR committee celebrations, organizing both the fall and spring committee retreats, ordering FR apparel throughout the THON season and working with the family leader to organize the Family of the Week. He or she will also help the Overall coordinate the Celebration of Life video played during Family Hour THON weekend.

New Family Contact

This Captain is responsible for the coordinating and organizing the New Family Orientation held in January at the Penn State Children’s Hospital in Hershey. Duties include designing a New to THON family survival packet as well as leading the orientation with the families. This captain will be the primary contact for all the new to THON families. He or she will set up FR buddies for the new families to THON and will organize other special informative events for the new families. This captain will also pair new families with experienced Four Diamonds families in order to help new families adjust to THON.

Organization Leaders (3)

These Captains will be responsible for organizing the Adopt A Family Applications from organizations as they are returned. They will also participate in pairing the Four Diamonds Families with the Penn State Organizations. These captains will be the primary contact for organizations partaking in AAF, and with the help of the FR committee, they will track the efforts and activities of organizations and see that proper repercussions are carried out when organizations do not fulfill the responsibilities of participating in AAF. These captains will refer to the AAF rulebook for all rules and guidelines organizations must abide by for the AAF program.

Special Events Liaison

This Captain is responsible for the coordination and organization of the Family Relations involvement in Special Events. He or she will be responsible for FR activity with the THON 5K, Family Carnival, and the Road to THON Celebration. He or she will also be in charge of working with the SE team on Athlete Hour, which takes place THON weekend. This captain will also be responsible for organizing a THON Scrapbook project as well as an activity book to be used in the Hershey clinic and hospital to familiarize new families with THON.

Special Programs Coordinator

This Captain will be in charge of organizing the Penn State Wish program for the Four Diamonds patients during THON weekend. They will also organize the No Grown Ups allowed room during THON weekend. He or she will work throughout the year securing contacts and donations for both of these events. This captain will also work with the special events liaison to organize a THON Scrapbook project and activity book to be used in the Hershey clinic and hospital.

Technology Liaison

This Captain will be responsible for creating video clips and picture collages of the Four Diamonds Children from the various THON events throughout the year. These videos will be used to motivate and inform the Penn State Community about THON. This Captain is responsible for creating the ‘Road To THON’ video which recaps the THON 2008 season and is played during Family hour THON weekend. In addition, they will work with the Technology committee to maintain the Four Diamonds Families’ page on the THON website, which will include videos, pictures and updates for the families. This captain will help to implement new and creative ideas for the Four Diamonds Families’ portion of the website.

Workshop Leader

This Captain will organize the four Adopt A Family Workshops held throughout the THON season where all organizations participating in the program must be present. The purpose of the workshops is to help organizations build a strong relationship with their Four Diamond’s Family. The Workshop leader will pair each FR captain with 5-7 Penn State organizations and provide the captain with tools and resources to have individual workshops and presentations during the THON season. This captain will also participate in the pairing of organizations with Four Diamonds Families.