[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2923]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1620
      CONGRATULATING THE PENN STATE IFC/PANHELLENIC DANCE MARATHON

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, the Penn State IFC/
Panhellenic Dance Marathon, referred to as THON, is a yearlong effort 
to raise funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. 
THON is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, with 700 
dancers, more than 300 supporting organizations, and more than 15,000 
volunteers involved in the annual event.
  Since 1977, THON has raised more than $78 million for The Four 
Diamonds Fund at the Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital. This year, 
THON 2012 took place from February 17-19. At this year's event, Penn 
State York broke its own record, raising $17,160.71, the largest amount 
that has ever been raised for THON, and it made it to the top 10 in 
fundraisers among the Penn State campuses.
  THON has helped so many families through The Four Diamonds Fund, and 
this critical support for pediatric cancer research has enabled some 
pediatric cancer survival rates to increase to nearly 90 percent.
  I want to congratulate the Penn State University IFC/Panhellenic 
Dance Marathon on its continued success in support of The Four Diamonds 
Fund and for their amazing, record-breaking total for this year's 
event.

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