One of the biggest events of the school year, the Manheim Township 2020 Mini-Thon, is approaching, and right before it is the Four Diamonds Pageant. Many Township students come out every year to have fun with their friends and help join the fight against pediatric cancer. Billal Gomaa and Katie Barber are heads of Mini-Thon committees, DAR committee and Morale committee respectively. Mr. Gomaa is head of the DAR committee, which stands for Donor Alumni Relations. The DAR committee is in charge of asking local businesses to sponsor or donate to Mini-Thon. Businesses can either donate money or items up for raffle. In return, donors are listed on the back of the shirts given out at Mini-Thon each year to advertise their companies. Ms. Barber is head of the Morale committee, whose main project is to prepare and run the Four Diamonds Pageant. The other committees are Design, Food, Tech, and Overall. The Design committee creates all the decorations for Mini-Thon, the Food committee makes sure dinner and breakfast are served, the Tech committee is in charge of creating videos, and the Overall committee heads oversee all preparations and events during Mini-Thon.

The 2020 Four Diamonds Pageant

This year, the pageant will be on Jan. 19. It begins at 5 p.m. and entry is $5, but more money can be given as a donation to the contestants or a sports team. The pageant has two main events separated by an intermission. During the first part of the pageant, all of the sports teams perform unique, choreographed dances. In the second part, the contestants come on stage and try to win the crown. To do this, they dance, answer questions, announce how much money they’ve raised, and show us their special talents. “There are some surprising talents that will shock the audience, so you’ll definitely want to be there,” Barber said.

There will be a bake sale during the intermission, and all profits go to the pageant’s total proceeds. Last year’s total money raised for the pageant was $31,484.04, but this year everyone will be trying to beat that total. Pictured above is an infographic from the official Mini-Thon Instagram account (@mthsminithon) that lists the contestants. Make sure to follow for updates!

MTHS MiniThon 2020

The Manheim Township 2020 Mini-Thon goes from the afternoon of Feb. 28 into the morning of Feb. 29. Entry is $60 and can be given at the door, but Mini-Thon recommends setting up an account on Donor Drive to collect donations and ask family members to donate for your ticket. The theme is “Leap For A Cure” because this year is a leap year, and Mini-Thon takes place during the extra day of the year. For those who have never been to a Mini-Thon before, it’s a very exciting night of activities that spills over into the next morning. It starts with dinner at 7 p.m. After which, students can walk around to enjoy other entertainment. Last year, options included a glow dance in the South Gym, a bounce house obstacle course in the North Gym, ping pong tables in the Shuffleboard Hallway, a photobooth and more. We can expect similar entertainment at MiniThon again this year, and Mr. Gomaa is working to include an escape room. Sometime during the night, all students will be directed to the arena for Minute to Win It games and the Luminary Walk. In the early morning around 5 a.m. breakfast will be served, and at 7 a.m. everyone is allowed to leave. Last year, a record breaking $134,304.76 was raised at Mini-Thon!   All profits go to the fight against pediatric cancer, so make sure to come out to the pageant Sunday the 19th and MiniThon on Friday Feb. 28 to support.