THON is committed to sustainable practices that will create a healthier environment, For the Kids® & For the Planet. We aim to do this through a multitude of initiatives including decreasing our single-use waste, diverting 60% of our waste from the landfills, and decreasing supply materials yearly. Additionally, we hope to repurpose 60% of unused food and beverages through donation, composting, or reusing in some capacity.
THON’s Green Fundraising Initiative
TREE: TREE stands for THON’s Recycling and Environmental Effort. TREE is a recycling program that collects aluminum cans of any kind (soda, tea, or other) and allows your club, organization, or committee to raise money for THON. TREE bags can be picked up in the THON office to store the cans in until the weekly drop-offs occur! Your organization will get credit for the number of bags you turn in, usually crediting between 50 & 80 cents. OPPerations captains will mark down how many bags you bring and later the money will be put into your THON total. THON Weekend incentives are also up for grabs for the winners of TREE in a variety of categories. TREE is one of the many initiatives THON is employing to become more sustainable, For the Kids® and For the Planet!
The Supply Logistics Committee, which obtains all in-kind donations for THON™, is focused on sourcing supplies sustainably. We look to find and solicit donors that are committed to sustainability. From finding and sourcing sustainable alternatives for commonly used items to reusing and repurposing items currently in our inventory, we enable every committee to run their events efficiently, successfully, sustainably, all For The Kids®.
Poster Library
Supply Logistics’ Poster Library houses various posters that are reused year to year for every Pre-THON Event and THON Weekend in an effort to reduce waste and consumption of materials.
Towel Drive
The Supply Logistics’ Towel Drive Initiative focuses on the year-long effort to collect donated towels that are used by the OPPerations Committee to clean floor mats used at various Pre-THON events and THON Weekend as well as assist Athletic Training in supporting the dancers throughout THON Weekend. All towels donated are reused each year, pending its condition after use, to ensure we continue to maintain THON’s sustainability efforts in all aspects of the organization.
Water Buggy
As leaders in the Penn State community, THON is actively introducing new initiatives to reduce our environmental impact and support our commitment to sustainability. Over the past many years, an area of improvement we have identified has been our large accumulation of plastic at our events. A significant amount of plastic waste comes from the consumption of plastic water bottles. To combat THON’s plastic usage, we proudly introduced a refillable water station for the first time at our THON 2023 5K powered by PNC. By encouraging all participants to bring their own reusable water bottles, we were able to guide individuals away from plastic water bottles and toward the water station. With a lower demand for plastic water bottles, THON can take a new stride toward our zero-waste vision. The overwhelming success of the refillable water station at the 2023 THON 5K was an incredibly important milestone in THON sustainability, and it will establish a new standard for the use of reusable alternatives.
Green Focus Group is currently made up of all sustainability captains and directors from the OPPerations, Hospitality, Supply Logistics, and Merchandise committees. This group meets over the summer and before every THON event to discuss important sustainability initiatives and logistics regarding each event.
Previous conversations include THON’s 10-year sustainability plan, materials being used at THON™ events, protocols at events, proper waste procedures, and more.
This group investigates THON’s current sustainability practices and creates more eco-friendly habits that will allow THON™ to continue for many years in the future while leaving as small of a carbon footprint as possible.
