Penn State’s 2022 Thon broke its own record this past weekend for most money raised with over $13.7 million raised for the kids.

The previous record, $13.34 million in 2014, was just broken as THON donates all proceeds to the Four Diamonds Foundation. Four Diamonds’ mission is to conquer childhood cancer by helping children and their families through care, support and research. Thon has raised over a total of $190 million towards childhood cancer.

THON is the largest student-run charity in the world. Over 700 students gathered at the Bryce Jordan at 6 p.m. on Friday and remained standing until 4 p.m. Sunday. The long stand had live music, dancers, motivational speakers and families affected by childhood cancer. Penn State Alum and recent super bowl champion, Nick Scott, was in attendance as well as pop singer Chelsea Cutler. 

“Thon never sets a fundraising goal. A huge part of our mission is fundraising, but there’s also so much more to it,” Thon executive director, Kate Colgan, said Friday. “It’s the emotional support we provide to our families and the memories we allow them to create and are there for as well, and so I think in our minds, any amount of money that we raise is that much amount of money closer to a cure for childhood cancer.

Last year due to COVID-19, THON was held virtually but was back in person for 2022. This is just one event from a year of fundraising efforts, but the dance marathon is definitely the most popular.

“I really enjoyed seeing everyone come together and support such a good cause. It was really nice to see everyone celebrating and bringing awareness to childhood cancer,” says Sam Czech, a junior at Central York. 

“Even though it felt like a very long time, I’m glad to be a part of such a good cause. We have had a friend who passed due to cancer, so we are doing our best to do our part to give back,” said Dayton Bagwell, a junior at Central York. 

At the end of the day, the participants danced for 46 hours and raised a record $13,756,347.50 for the kids.