Penn State charity dance marathon raises $13.3M

Penn State charity dance marathon raises $13.3M

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State’s annual 46-hour no-sitting-or-sleeping dance marathon ended Sunday afternoon and raised a record $13.34 million for pediatric cancer research and to provide support for patients and their families.

A jam-packed arena of students, pediatric cancer patients, survivors and their families welcomed the announcement of the record for the annual THON fundraiser, which broke last year’s record of $12.37 million.

Officially called the Penn State Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, the event is billed as the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. Students dance — and remain upright — on the floor of the school’s Bryce Jordan Center to raise money for the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.

With Sunday’s total, students have raised more than $114 million for the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital since 1977.