THON Canning Weekend Begins; Share Photos with StateCollege.com

Hundreds of Penn State students will be out in force Saturday and Sunday, collecting donations during the third designated ‘canning weekend’ of the 2010-2011 THON season.

THON, or the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, has scheduled four canning weekends this season. Each one is a chance for student fundraisers to fan out across Pennsylvania and the East Coast, seeking impromptu cash contributions from passers-by in public places.

The first two canning weekends were in October and December. The final one is scheduled for Feb. 11 to Feb. 13. An average of 269 student organizations participate in each canning weekend, according to THON.

Contributions go to the Four Diamonds Fund, which supports pediatric-cancer research and treatment.

‘Penn State students are able to use canning as not only a fundraising mechanism, but also an awareness tool,’ THON Public Relations Chairperson Jony Rommel said in a news release. ‘This method of fundraising allows THON volunteers to engage new donors in actively participating in our goal of conquering pediatric cancer.’

Thought to be the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, THON has raised more than $69 million in the past 35 years. Fundraising efforts culminate each February in a 46-hour, no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon at the Bryce Jordan Center, on the University Park campus. THON in 2011 is slated for Feb. 18 to Feb. 20.

Meanwhile, StateCollege.com welcomes — and encourages — Penn State students to share photos from their THON canning-weekend trips. The StateCollege.com staff will post as many photos on the website as it can. Photo submissions may be sent via e-mail to adam.smeltz@statecollege.com.

Related content

• PHOTOS: THON Supporters Endure Icy Cold for Canning Weekend (Jan. 24, 2011)
  

• Canning Weekend Lined up for Penn State THON (Dec. 2, 2010)

• StateCollege.com’s THON page