In Memory of an Angel, Miranda Zeigler

Miranda celebrates on New Year's Eve, 2007.

Miranda Kaye Zeigler had aspirations.

Maybe she would be a teacher, because loved helping kids. Or maybe she would be a veterinarian, because she wanted to help animals. But when Miranda was diagnosed with cancer she talked about doing something else.

Hollywood Dances For A Cure

Every singer has the moment, one instance in which they believe they can be something more than they are.

Kait Weston’s moment came two years ago when a woman in the audience broke down crying as she sang inside of a New York café.

“That was my moment of inspiration when I realized I could connect with people,” Kait said. “I could tell there was some stress in her life, and it felt good to take her away from that.”

That moment is partly why Kait bought a one-way ticket to Los Angeles two years ago. It’s partly why when she told her mom she’d be back in two weeks, she never returned. It’s partly why she cans for THON on Hollywood Boulevard while singing. It’s partly why she’ll be performing at Penn State’s THON for a second year in a row in less than two weeks.

New Kensington Picks 4 THON Dancers

 THON is indescribable with words, so to give THON newcomers a taste of  THON we show them YouTube videos.

“It looks incredible,” said Bill Staniszewski, who will attend his first THON in 25 days. “I can’t wait to be there.”

Neither can New Kensington’s Leigh Hastings, Aric Fellers and Courtney Rockwell, who will join Staniszewski as New Kensington’s four dancers at THON.

Ragnar Relay runners go the distance FTK

Cutting corners doesn’t sound like such a bad idea, but kids with cancer can’t cut corners.

They have to beat cancer every second of every day.

That’s why when HopeExpress runners in the Ragnar Relay ran 200.1 miles for kids with cancer they run every step of every mile until they reach the finish line.

The Ragnar Relay was completed two weekends ago by 12 runners that rotated for all of the 200.1 miles from Stauffer Park in Lancaster, PA to the Pocono Mountains. That’s a 2 and a half hour car drive, but it’s a demanding 31-hour journey for runners.

Hope Express, which was founded by Hank Agnus in 2006, goes beyond spreading awareness and raising funds for the Four Diamonds Fund. In fact, when THON arrives in 117 days, Hope Express will be arriving at THON for the 6^th consecutive year to connect Four Diamonds Children from Hershey Medical Center to the Bryce Jordan Center.

Of course, they’ll run the entire way to THON, all 135 miles, a 24-hour trip between two teams of runners.

“The Hope Express Team runs 3-mile legs, and our Extreme Team runs 6-mile legs,” said Molly Thomas, a moraler for the Hope Express Team.

On the day before THON, the runners and moralers spend time with the Four Diamonds Families that cannot attend THON due to poor health.

“The kids there love it,” Thomas said.

The way that Hope Express has connected children in the Hershey Medica Center goes beyond running, too. Some of the thousands of letters that THON dancers receive throughout the weekend are from children at the Hershey Medical Center during THON weekend.

Those letters are carried in backpacks that the runners have on for the entire duration of their marathon.

It’s just one more way to make sure THON is felt by every kid with cancer.

Canning for the kids

Maria Lamagna’s first canning trip for THON was to Rockville, MD, nearly 200 miles away from her home in Allison Park, PA.

“I was the only freshman going, so I was a little nervous,” Maria said, who has only missed one canning trip in three years since. “Everyone really talked up canning trips, so I was just really excited and anxious.”

And Maria wasn’t the only one a little bit worried.

“I remember being a little anxious with her being a freshman and going to stay at someone else’s home so far away, so we had a lot of questions,” Pam Lamagna, Maria’s mom, said.

Canners and their families alike have reason for concern.

Who are canners staying with? How will they get there? Will canners be safe where they can?

Fortunately, like many other first-time canners, Maria’s first canning trip was a success. And now, when thousands of canners spread out across Pennsylvania and surrounding states for THON’s canning weekends, Maria doesn’t always go far away from home. Instead, she’s brings canners to her hometown.

“We thought it was a great idea for her to bring people here to can,” Pam said. “We’re happy that she asked us.”

Maria’s most recent canning expedition, in which 17 other chemical engineers from AICHE joined her, was her third canning trip home in as many years.

“My parents are very social, so they love the idea of us canning here,” Maria said. “We’ve hosted one time every year since my sophomore year.”

Of course, when 18 college students arrive at the Lamagna doorstep once a year, hungry and exhausted from a near three-hour drive from University Park on a Friday night, you’d think the Lamagnas might be a little bit overwhelmed.

Not Maria’s parents.

Two homemade pizzas were waiting for the canners on the dining room table last weekend, and the Lamagnas, who run their own family cheese company, took requests for the rest of the night.

“We got here, and brought our bags downstairs,” Doug Marple said, a first-time canner. “Her parents were already making pizza, great pizza, whatever you wanted. They had green peppers, white pizza, banana peppers, anything. We were well fed.”

The Lamagna household has gained such a reputation for its Italian food and an abundance of games that canners affectionately call it the Dave and Busters house.

But all of this just for one canning weekend?

“We look forward to this,” Rudy Lamagna, Maria’s dad, said. “We try to give them whatever they need.”

The morning after the Friday night festivities in the Lamagna home last weekend, the canners ditched their comfortable confines and canned in Maria’s hometown, but a few challenges have arose for every canner in the last year. Among those challenges, agreed Ana Duggan, Kate Foster and Alison Filippellei, were negative reactions from a minority of potential donators.

“We really believe in this cause,” Ana Duggan said. “We’re doing this for kids with pediatric cancer.”

Unfortunately, negative publicity for Penn State has unjustifiably reached THON, but canners say that they try to ignore hecklers.

“I think a lot of people appreciate what we’re doing,” Maria said. “Usually people just say thank you and donate, so we don’t pay attention to any negative reactions toward us.”

Overall, Maria and her group of canners raised $3,341.54 for the Four Diamonds Fund last weekend.

“I’ll miss this so much,” said Maria, who only has three canning trips left to take before she graduates in April. “I look forward to being on the other side of canning, too, and donating to kids when I’m an alumnus."

THON So Hard

Sometimes THON creeps its way into your everyday life in weird, cooky ways, especially when it comes to music.

Whenever Taio Cruz’s Dynamite hits the radio, I immediately sing along, “I throw my diamonds in the air sometimes, sayin ay-oh, FTK-oh.”

Of course, I only do this when I am alone in the car with the windows down, at THON or around other THONers.

Then, just this weekend, I heard a few canners sing “THON So Hard,” while they were outside and listening to another car’s music with the windows down. Of course, they were just changing the lyrics to Jay-Z’s Ni**as in Paris.

Still, these are just two examples of how much THON becomes a part of your life once you catch what a friend of mine, Molly Thomas, calls the THON bug.  I can’t really explain what the THON bug is, but everyone that THONs has it.

But sometimes THON doesn’t creep its way into your everyday life; it demands your attention when one of our own is in dire need of support.

Immediately following my announcement that the blog would take a hiatus from April to September, one of our Four Diamonds families, the Whiteheads, caught the attention of THONers across Penn State.  Emily Whitehead was in the hospital battling her second relapse of leukemia when her parents posted a status on Facebook that wrenched the hearts out of every person who read it.

“Emily may not make it through the night. Please pray her lung function and kidney function improve. Please pray she is not scared and not in pain. Thank you to everyone for your prayers, love and support.”

That was on April 24, and I’m thankful to say that Emily is still fighting and surviving cancer every day of her life.

Emily, and many other children battling cancer, are the reason we THON so hard. 

They are the reason we dance for 46 hours during THON weekend.

They are the reason that THON creeps its way into our everyday life.

THON Countdown: 137 days!

Dance 4 THON to Take Hiatus, Return in September

This will be the last post on Dance 4 THON until next September.

That is when THON will reboot itself with fundraising events and with events for THON children.

Because this will be this blog’s last post for the next four months, I wanted to tell you about how I learned about THON and what THON means to THON volunteers. This will hopefully interest you and serve as an introduction to new visitors to the blog.

On Feb. 25, 2010, I was the managing editor of the Behrend Beacon. I was in charge of all of the newspaper’s content, and our lead story about 2010’s THON weekend wasn’t submitted by the reporter assigned to write the story.

I met with Molly Thomas, who was Behrend’s 2010 THON chair, at 10 p.m. to briefly interview her. What was supposed to be a five-minute interview turned into an hour-long conversation.

I left Thomas’ office shaken.

Her vivid recollection of THON weekend gave me a genuine interest in THON.  Thomas and I stayed in contact, because I wanted to get involved in THON at the start of the next school.

Unfortunately, I had to take a year off of school to resolve some health issues, and I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to return to Penn State to contribute to THON.

Three months ago, I fulfilled the commitment I told Thomas I would make and joined THON.

I anxiously walked into my first THON meeting with New Kensington THON. Around 50 students gathered for the meeting and watched Andrew Holodnik dance to “Jump Around.” For the next hour, the atmosphere in the room was electrifying, as New Kensington’s chairs spoke about THON and their plans for the semester.

Three months later, I’m extremely thankful for the opportunities that THON presents to both Four Diamonds children and to THON volunteers.

THON is source of ongoing support and friendship for children with cancer.

THON gives its volunteers a purpose we’ve probably never experienced before.

The average Penn State student goes to school expecting to learn, make great friends and to attend a few football games.

Then, the average Penn State student learns about THON and gets more than they ever bargained for at Penn State. THON volunteers get to make a difference in the world long before a diploma is in their hands.

More importantly, THON volunteers get to change a child’s life every day.