Bellwood Antis High School is the only Mini-THON going on in Blair County. Its students said they host the fundraiser in honor of Maddie Shura, who was seven years old when she passed away from cancer.
“She was very young, and so, we’re doing this for her, and we’re raising the money for other kids with cancer, so the community can get involved with that,” Mya Decker, Entertainment and Operations Chair, said.
The money raised will go to “Four Diamonds”, an organization working towards finding a cure for childhood cancer.
“There is so many other things going on when your child is told that they have cancer. There’s so many emotions that are running through. As a a parent, you truly have to feel like you have to be the strong one for them because they’re going through so much, and so, just to have the elimination of the worry of paying for any medical costs or prescriptions or anything that they would need is just such an alleviating thing,” Alivia Jacobs, Fundraising Chair, said.
One of the event’s student organizers said she sees the event as a way to give back to her neighbors.
“I’ve always thought about it, in the sense, that I’m doing something for my community right now, for this immediate place, but for also someone else. It’s a really good feeling, but that feeling also is what drives me and makes me what to never stop and keep doing this,” Brandie Ray, Overall Chair, said.
In 2018, their goal was $5,000. They almost tripled that, raising $13,000.
This year, their goal was $15,000, which is the cost of one cancer treatment.