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BELLWOOD -- Bellwood-Antis High School students are on track to meet their goal of raising $10,000 by March 1 for Four Diamonds, a Hershey-based organization that raises funds to fight childhood cancer.
Four Diamonds is the recipient of Penn State University's Thon.
Bellwood-Antis will host its own Mini-Thon dance in March for the first time since 2020, thanks to five junior students who petitioned faculty members for its return.
Junior students Avah Hassler, Ava Patton, Macy Cherry, Jenna Norton and Leigha Clapper approached teacher Shawn Hallahan with the idea of resurrecting the Mini-Thon dance.
They became officers in a club that now has over 40 high school students, across all grades, raising money for the cause of combating childhood cancer.
Since they've raised $4,476 so far, they had to raise their goal from $5,000 to $10,000.
Matt Elder, an adviser for the club, said, based on data collected from previous years, the students are financially on track to raise more than their current goal.
The club officers collected almost $700 from community members at the district's first home football game against Westmont in September. Hassler said they also plan to collect donations during the upcoming home basketball games.
In September, they raised over $1,700 during the school's "stall day" -- a day for students to donate loose change and prolong starting their first class until after all the change was counted by teachers and staff.
Elder said none of the students had class during their first period that day because of how long it took to count everyone's change. He said they're planning to include elementary and middle school students during the next stall day, in December or January, to have a friendly competition between the three buildings and see who can raise the most money.
Students took their efforts to the community Nov. 20 during the district's "Day of Giving" and collected over $100 from customers leaving Martin's General Store in Bellwood and drivers who pulled over to donate.
Since the students who organized the Mini-Thon in years past had graduated, the students putting the event together said it was important for them to keep it going for future years.
When they're seniors next year, they all plan to help their successors organize the fundraiser.
"I was hoping that even after we graduated, they'd keep doing it, so (the school) wouldn't lose it again like we did whenever COVID happened," Cherry said.
Patton said she thinks the Mini-Thon club is a great way to get more students involved in activities at the school.
"I know some people don't do sports," she said. "Having Mini-Thon is a great way to get them involved."
Hassler said she thinks the event is something everybody should be aware of.
"Doing Mini-Thon is bringing awareness to the school district and hopefully people will support it," she said.
Elder said he's proud of his students for making an impact.
"It's just impressive to see a group of 11th graders take this on," he said. "It's a big undertaking, and they're doing a great job. It's impressive to see the community's support, too."
Since 2018, the Mini-Thon has raised over $80,000 for Four Diamonds.
Community members who want to donate this year can visit the school's fundraiser page, https://fourdiamonds.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donate.event&eventID=4083.
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.