Penn State’s THON raised a record $15 million

If things had been different, Jesse King likely would have been dancing this weekend beside Michael Wang at THON, Pennsylvania State University’s annual 46-hour dance marathon to raise money for pediatric cancer research and support.

Wang, of Hatfield, and King, of Mechanicsburg, had been friends and members of Club Volleyball’s THON team since they started at Penn State as freshmen nearly four years ago. As a sophomore, King was the team’s THON captain. The two were supposed to be roommates junior year.

But then, in a tragic twist of fate, King was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and nearly died from a procedure when a mass in his lung was discovered. He went into cardiac arrest and was deprived of oxygen for a period of minutes. He spent five months in the hospital, learning to eat, walk and talk again. Though cancer-free now, he’s still recovering.

» READ MORE: THON dance marathon raises record $13.7 million to fight child cancer

So Wang danced without him, but his friend was his motivation.

“This one’s for him,” said Wang, 21, a human-centered design and development major and one of eight THON dancers for Club Volleyball, all friends with King. “It’s going to be an incredibly emotional journey.”

More than 700 student dancers participated in this year’s THON, which began Friday night at the Bryce Jordan Center and concluded Sunday at 4 p.m. More than $15 million was raised, a new record for THON, billed as the largest student-run philanthropy in the world.

Last year, dancers raised $13.7 million for the Four Diamonds charity, which supports research for a cure and families whose children get treatment at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital. Since THON started more than a half-century ago, more than $219 million has been raised, including this year’s total.

» READ MORE: Penn State's THON brings in nearly $11.7 million to fight pediatric cancer

Many students from the Philadelphia region were involved, including executive director Lily Pevoto, of Downingtown, who addressed the board of trustees via computer at their meeting Friday afternoon.

Identical twin sisters Lexi and Liv Murphy-Costanzo, of Broomall, helped to start a mini-THON at Marple Newtown High School after a close friend was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Then their mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when they were seniors. THON took on an even more personal meaning.

“It’s a major reason they chose to attend Penn State,” said their mother, Eileen Murphy, principal of Cardinal O’Hara High School in Delaware County, who has been cancer-free for four years. “I’m immensely proud and really so grateful that there’s an outlet for their genuine kindness and love for this cause.”

The Murphy-Costanzo sisters have been involved with THON since they started at Penn State. This year, Lexi, a psychology major, is communications director, and Liv, a corporate innovation and entrepreneurship major, is rules and regulations fund-raising safety director.

“Being a THON volunteer has really made my college experience,” Lexi said. “It has connected me with so many other students with a similar mission. You learn the stories of so many children and families impacted by childhood cancer. We get to continue to share the stories of those children and families. It feels like a huge honor to be able to do that.”

Nearly 50 high schools in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks and Chester Counties (and one in Burlington County) held mini-THONs last year, raising nearly $1.4 million for Four Diamonds.

Wang and Jesse King were both involved in mini-THONs at their high schools, too. King was selected to wear the Nittany Lion’s suit his senior year, his mother, Wendy King, said.

Wendy King, a pharmaceutical representative in hematology, danced in THON in 1986 when she was a student at Penn State.

“He loves Penn State and being part of THON,” she said.

King, her son and her husband attended THON this weekend, and King was scheduled to speak Sunday during family hour. After her son was diagnosed, the family began getting support through Four Diamonds for some of his therapies, she said.

“We have now become even bigger advocates for Four Diamonds because we see what it does,” she said.

Wang said it was difficult watching King go from THON captain to THON beneficiary, especially this year.

“This is the one that’s really meaningful,” Wang said. “This is the one he would have danced at if he were able to.”