Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Student takes on leadership role in 2023 Mini-THON
HORSHAM » Four Diamonds has selected Taylor Hagenkotter, a senior at Hatboro-Horsham High School, as a member of the 20222023 Mini-THON Student Leadership Council.
Hagenkotter joined MiniTHON in ninth grade after attending the activity fair and wanting to support a good cause. She became a Mini-THON leader her sophomore year. After learning and growing with the club, Hagenkotter applied to be in the Student Leadership Council, and felt her experience leading both in-person and virtual MiniTHONs and fundraisers gave her a unique skillset to help many schools.
“I thought that it would be a good opportunity to not only help other schools develop their Mini-THONs, but also learn new ideas and develop ours as well,” she said. The Mini-THON Student Leadership Council provides feedback and shares ideas with the Four Diamonds staff throughout the school year to help improve the Mini-THON program. This role is given to students that excel in their local Mini-THON through leadership, fundraising and their commitment to community service.
Hagenkotter will serve as an advocate and leader for Four Diamonds, Mini-THON and more than 90,000 students who are on a mission to conquer childhood cancer. During the 20212022 school year, over 200 schools participated in a Four Diamonds Mini-THON event to help conquer childhood cancer.
Hatboro-Horsham High School’s Mini-THON will be held April 22, 2023, and will feature community hours where the community can visit and see what Mini-THON is all about. “Last year we raised $11,764.69 but we
are hoping to surpass and even double that total this year,” said Hagenkotter.
Mini-THON students fundraise all year leading up to the main event, so there are many ways the community can come out and support their efforts. “You’ve Been Charmed” is one of their district-wide fundraisers, which allows people to gift a goodie bag to a student or teacher, and is delivered to their classroom or homeroom.
On August 5, Hagenkotter and another student leader, Emma Harold, attended the Mini-THON Summit in Hershey. They learned about fundraisers and tips to implement MiniTHONs, and also heard families’ stories about Four Diamonds.
“After spending years with this club and learning about Four Diamonds and their mission to help families with kids battling cancer to never see a bill and their funding to cancer research, I became really inspired to help raise awareness and raise money as well,” said Hagenkotter. “Being in Mini-THON has helped me decide that I am going to college for Pre-Med to hopefully enter emergency medicine or pediatric oncology.”
Learn more about Hatboro-Horsham High School’s Mini-THON on Facebook and Instagram @ hhminithon. Mini-THONs are modeled after the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, or THON™, the world’s largest student-run philanthropy. Since 1993, Mini-THON has raised more than $52 million. The funds are used to drive the discovery of new and improved treatments for childhood cancer by supporting the work of more than 90 researchers at Penn State Children’s Hospital and Penn State College of Medicine. Four Diamonds also supports families by covering all medical expenses not paid for by insurance for every eligible child. Learn more at www.fourdiamonds. org/mini-thon/.