Manheim Township’s 2019 Mini-THON, held from the evening of March 1 to the morning of March 2, was a huge success, with the school raising over $134,000. This money will all go towards helping families affected by pediatric cancer fight through some of the toughest times in their lives. I was so fortunate to be a small part of this colossal effort, both as a Mini-THON attendee, and as a part of the food committee. It was gratifying to go above and beyond our goals and see everyone’s hard work throughout the whole year pay off.

Before the actual event, all of the committees dedicated so much time and effort to ensure that Mini-THON would be an amazing time for everyone and that there were activities and food to last for the whole night. As a member of the food committee, my job was to find people and restaurants to provide dinner, the late-night snack, and breakfast, as well as serve the food during a shift. Knowing all of the work and preparation that we put in made it even more rewarding when everything went well at Mini-THON.

I came early to help set up and to serve dinner to the students. When I arrived, along with some of my friends who were also serving dinner, I could see all of the committee heads and members scrambling to get some last-minute tasks done. I couldn’t help but marvel at all of the work that everyone had accomplished in such a small period of time: when I left school at 2:30 that day, almost no decorations had been put up yet, and the building looked as it always did. But when I returned at around 6:30, large, colorful banners were hung all over the school, bouncy houses were set up in the south gym, the arena was equipped with posters for all of the classes, and everywhere the spirit of Mini-Thon was palpable. I saw many people arriving carrying large bags from Olive Garden and Chick-Fil-A, ready to serve more than 600 students who participated in Mini-THON. At last, everything was set up, and I began to see students arrive to check in and begin the long night. Observing the huge line of people eager to get in, all united to help raise money for such a life-changing cause, filled me with pride for our school.

One of the most harrowing parts of the night was the Luminary Walk, in which we honored friends and family of students and teachers that had lost their battle against cancer. Seeing all of the names written on bags glowing with an ethereal light reminded me of the reason that we were gathered there, and all of the people that this horrible disease has taken away from us. It made me realize the importance of what we were doing is, and how many people’s lives are affected by every dollar that we raised. I was saddened by the walk, but also proud of what our student body did to help people in need. The night was a blur of dancing, games, and yawns, and by the end I had a hard time believing that twelve hours had elapsed.

By the time the night was almost over, my eyelids felt like lead and there was nothing I wanted to do more than to collapse onto my bed, but, I was excited and a little bit nervous about the reveal of our grand total. I really wanted to top last year’s amount, and I could feel that sentiment echoed around the arena. As we sat down on the floor, despite the overwhelming exhaustion, I could feel the anticipation permeating the room as we awaited the final sum. As a drumroll vibrated through the floor, the committee heads held up the signs that proclaimed: “$134,304.76 for the kids”. All at once, clapping and cheering filled the air as we were astonished by how much we managed to raise. As I looked around, huge smiles were on everyone’s faces, and it was amazing to see the pride and happiness that was exhibited throughout the room. I truly felt as if we had made a difference, knowing all of the people who would be affected by the Four Diamonds organization. 

As I went home and crashed on my bed, I couldn’t help but think of the night and everything that we achieved. I was so proud of the students and the teachers for making this event possible because it was truly life-changing.