Penn State Dance Marathon, THON, Raises Over $10M Despite Many Participating Virtually

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Image via Samantha Koon, THON.
Katie Solomon, a Penn State senior from Lansdale, is serving as executive director of the school’s dance marathon, THON.

Katie Solomon, a Penn State senior from Lansdale, is serving as executive director of the school’s dance marathon, THON, managed to bring in over $10 million this year despite being delivered virtually due to the pandemic, writes Susan Snyder for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The $10.6 million gathered this weekend is just a million less than the annual dance raised last year for pediatric cancer research and patient support when 700 dancers and thousands of audience members packed the Bryce Jordan Center for the event. It also comes at a time when numerous families are facing financial hardships due to COVID-19.

“It was better than anybody could have expected it to be,” said Solomon. “We did not expect to get to this level. That 10.6 is something I’ll be proud of for the rest of my life.”

The livestream of the event, billed as the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, was seen by 165,000 unique users from over 70 countries, which is about 35,000 more viewers than last year. A total of 592 dancers participated from their homes.

Read more about this year’s THON at The Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.

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