Local PSU senior heads 2021 THON
North Penn grad is executive director for virtual fundraising event
“One of my personal favorite things about THON every single year is just the people that it brings together. THON has this weird ability to turn strangers ... into families that are rooted in this common purpose in fighting childhood cancer.” — Katie Solomon, executive director of Penn State IFC/ Panhellenic Dance Marathon
HARLEYSVILLE » With less than one month until the 2021 Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, Executive Director Katie Solomon, of Harleysville, has had quite the journey.
“One of my personal favorite things about THON every single year is just the people that it brings together,” Solomon said. “THON has this weird ability to turn strangers ... into families that are rooted in this common purpose in fighting childhood cancer.”
More than 16,500 student volunteers help fundraise each year, according to THON’s website. Money raised from the annual dance marathon goes to the Four Diamonds Foundation at Penn State Children’s Hospital in Hershey.
The initiative aims to financially assist families whose children are undergoing cancer treatments with the ultimate goal of financing research efforts to one day find a cure for pediatric cancer.
In years past, the Bryce Jordan Center, on Penn State University Park’s campus, would transform into a sea of color with thousands of students in the stands supporting the dance teams tasked with
being unable to sit or sleep for 46 hours.
The now long-standing institution that was created in 1973 will look much different this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
THON 2021 will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 19, and end at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 21, Solomon said. This year’s theme of “rise and unify” was previously announced as one of the details surrounding the solely online event, according to Onward State.
Solomon, 23, a senior at Penn State studying criminology and sociology, cited safety as a main reason for switching up the traditional logistics of the event. She said that participants will be able to tune in by way of a livestream component. A schedule of events as well as other resources are expected to be announced soon.
“So one of the things I’m most excited to see out of a virtual THON is how that community has continued to be built,” Solomon said.
Solomon said she found that looking on the bright side of things is crucial. While it might be a nontraditional event this year, she said that typically the venue would often hit capacity at certain points over the weekend, which meant there weren’t opportunities to “allow everyone in the building at a given time.” The virtual component could allow for maximum participation.
“I’m really, really excited to see who gets the opportunity to experience THON and gets to know more about our mission,” she said. “Like I said, it brings people together that otherwise would have never met and I know that’s gonna hold true for this year, probably even more so.”
As part of THON’s overall operations, 16 directors are charged with managing a variety of committees including dancer relations, finance, entertainment, and hospitality. Solomon was chosen for the executive director position on March 20, 2020.
Solomon said she first attended the 46-hour dance marathon extravaganza in 2014 when her sister danced.
As a senior in North Penn High School’s class of 2016, she organized a Mini-THON that spring. She described it as a “super awesome experience” with North Penn raising more than $35,000, the North Penn Knight Crier reported.
At Penn State, she devoted her freshman year in 2017 first as a student volunteer, according to THON officials.
“I came to Penn State wanting to get involved off the bat, but at the time I don’t think I knew exactly why I wanted to, or why it was so important,” she said. “I just knew it was the thing to do.”
Solomon then worked her way up serving as a development captain in 2018 and director of development in 2019 and 2020, according to THON officials.
She recalled her time serving as director of development as a particularly influential experience. Her duties included overseeing fundraising initiatives and campaigns for the organization, which involved “working with corporate partners and stakeholders from all over the world,” which provided a better understanding of THON’s overall reach.
“People see Penn State THON as just this one weekend that happens every year, and while that is true, we have this amazing event, it really is a year-long effort that goes far beyond State College,” she said. “And because of the seats that I’ve sat in, I’ve been able to see that from every perspective — and that’s why those roles shaped my experience, and why I’ve continued to be involved, because of the lives that it impacts every single day.”
Navigating the logistics of putting on an event of this magnitude during a public health crisis has been no easy feat. Solomon said there’s been “a lot of Zoom” and “a lot of calls” over the past 10 months.
As the executive director, Solomon serves as a liaison between the student-run organization and the Penn State Administration to ensure “we have [the] support” and “backing of the university” when it comes to mitigation and communication efforts.
“My primary responsibility is really communicating what my team comes up with and bringing it to the university, Four Diamonds, other stakeholders, so we’re all on the same page,” she said. “But in terms of coordinating the logistics, my … job has been to be a resource and support system to those who are actually doing the work every single day.”
Working on this endeavor during the COVID-19 pandemic has been quite the experience for Solomon.
“The last 10 months really have shown me … that THON is more than its events,” she said. “It’s more than getting to dance on a stage. It’s just more than that fundamentally, and getting to know a lot of our families these last 10 months and seeing how they’re coping with the pandemic and seeing this is not new for a lot of them.”
“We’ve never really had that perspective before, and ... we’re quarantining, and we’re isolating for a year, and maybe a little bit longer, but some of these families have had to do that for 10 years plus because of the results of chemotherapy or the results of going through treatment,” she continued.
While this year’s event will be like no other, Solomon said organizers are working to provide an interactive experience for the THON families and children.
“The Family Relations Committee, Family Relations THON chairs and everyone involved has been so, so creative with figuring out how to make Zoom an avenue and a way to support young children, and teens, and young adults through and beyond their cancer journeys,” she said.
Solomon added families will receive a box with corresponding resources that they can use throughout the weekend.
“So we’re trying to provide something that makes it more of a hands on experience at the same time,” she said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also shed light on some financial obstacles for the organization as health and safety restrictions limited opportunities. Additionally, with the uncertain economic landscape, some are simply not able to give at all or to the degree they did in years past.
“Unfortunately, because of coronavirus, a lot of the in-person fundraising activities that we usually have have been suspended just again for the safety of everyone involved,” she said.
The annual dance marathon has raised more than $167 million since its inception, the York Daily Record reported last year.
“Throughout a pandemic and beyond there’s gonna be a lot of innovation and creativity that has to come out of this in order to move forward,” Solomon said.
The first dance marathon raised $2,136, according to online THON financial records. Since then, fundraising initiatives have netted tens of millions of dollars raised in the name of research and helping families. There was $11,696,942.38 raised in 2020, and $10,621,683.76 raised in 2019.
“With that being said, one of the most important things that we hope is whatever dollars we do raise will be enough to support patient care so that our families can continue to never see a bill, and thus far we’re on track to do so,” Solomon said.
This will be Solomon’s last THON participating as a student. While that part may be bittersweet, Solomon says she takes pride in what she and so many others have accomplished.
“If I had to sum it up, I’d say it’s been eye-opening to say the absolute least, realizing not only what this organization truly does, but also just the function of what happens when people believe enough in something,” she said. “THON has not stopped working. We have not stopped doing projects, and fundraising, and supporting our families, and that just kind of goes to show the strength of the community that has always been there but has never been so tangibly represented in … innovation and resilience.”
“I came to Penn State wanting to get involved off the bat, but at the time I don’t think I knew exactly why I wanted to, or why it was so important,” she said. “I just knew it was the thing to do.” – Katie Solomon, executive director of Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon