THON™ 5K: Alternative Fundraisers 

Written By: Alexis Lubart, Helen Koch 

The Annual THON™ 5K is a special and heartwarming event for families, students, and anyone who has a love of fighting for a cure for childhood cancer through Four Diamonds. During this event, there were many tables set up with students passionate about alternative fundraising. During the year, these students participate in a variety of THON fundraising events including tabling events downtown on College Avenue, hosting events with their THON families, and more. 

The two groups we were able to speak with were the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and Phi Chi Theta Business and Economics Fraternity. These organizations are extremely involved with THON and have broken records for their fundraising efforts.  

Zeta Tau Alpha, while paired with Alpha Tau Omega, has been the top fundraiser for twenty-five years and counting. Peyton Prevost, a junior majoring in Integrative Science and Pre-Med, member of Zeta Tau Alpha, and a Dancer Relations committee member, spoke to her fundraising experiences and what THON means to their organization. During the 5K, Peyton had a game set up as an alternative fundraiser. The goal of the game was to hit all of the cans off the table using a ball. The kids attending this event had so much fun playing and had the chance to win a prize if they were able to knock all six cans off the table.  

“It is meaningful that we are able to have events like this, where we can see families who live far away. Getting the chance to speak with them and hear about their stories, talking about our stories, and becoming closer as an organization is what makes this weekend and all THON festivities so special,” Prevost said.  

When asked why they THON, Prevost expressed, “We’re doing this for our families and just all of the families, so that they all get a chance to raise their kids.” Zeta Tau Alpha had a memorable time at the 5K and is looking forward to THON Weekend.   

Next, we were able to interview Sarah Drakas, the THON Director for Phi Chi Theta. Previously, she was a THON Chair and was a key member of a 4-person fundraising team resulting in $5,000 in contributions from businesses to achieve a record total of $246,266.29, establishing the organization as a top fundraiser.  

During this event, Phi Chi Theta organized a ring toss game. They knew there were going to be a lot of kids at this event who would be excited to do something that was fun and interactive. Some advice they would give to others looking to host an alternative fundraiser is to be creative and always stay family oriented.  

“THON is so big at Penn State so being able to fundraise for a good cause is something that’s really important to all of us and it’s a pleasure to be able to do this. Being a part of the magic of THON is remarkable and seeing all the families come together with their kids is really cool and I love being a part of that,” Drakas said.