On the evening of March 2^nd, glow sticks glistened, laughter was shared, tears were shed, and an impact was made. Mini-THON reentered the halls of CB East for 3 vivacious months since 2019! It was an opportunity for the CB East community to rekindle with energy and spirit that has been instable since COVID. Starting in early December, the senate of student council was quick to get the event up and running, drilling to inspire involvement! With a calendar of fundraisers and pep rallies, the group did an excellent job in recruiting and promoting how the student body could get involved in the production of Mini-THON.

Alongside a cast of strong-willed senate members and devoted advisors, Mrs. Bercik & Mrs.Haag, juniors Sadye Gibson & Cassidy Kempinski were two of the individuals who took a lead on the event. With the falling out of RWB, it was time to shift to new ideas and readapt the liveliness of Mini-THON that was previously beloved in the CBE community. Given that levels of participation amongst the student body have been dwindling, Kempinski found that, “unifying them behind a greater cause would be a great way to get people to actually participate”, and it was indeed an effective approach. Relaunching the concept of Mini-THON was another challenge the members of senate had to address, but they met that undertaking head on with the visitation of a Four Diamonds representative who presented about the cause & with a large PSU surrounding community, the awareness of the event wasn’t minimal.

Many forces joined Student Council to take Mini-THON to the next caliber with Grateful Grams Sales from the Kindness is Contagious Club, NHS Bake Sales, Key Club Participation, FBLA pretzel sales, and posters made by Class Councils. The proceeds made by these school organizations combined with the generous donations made by students, staff, and community members worked so seamlessly to launch the success of Mini-THON. Senior Julia Norris, one of the top donors, raising a whopping $1,570 dollars holds a stronger devotion to the event due to a close to home connection. Norris was elated to hear that East would be rebooting Mini-THON, as her little sister fought against pediatric cancer at a young age. Norris worked whole-heartedly to raise her money in honor of her sister, looking for support from family, friends, and neighbors by making posters promoting the cause and her Four Diamonds account. And the response was rewarding, such an outpouring of love and support filled Norris’s heart.

The night of Mini-THON consisted of an array of enjoyment from bouncy houses, knock-out, musical chairs, a donut eating contestant, Zumba, and much more! But it was not only students enjoying the hype of Zumba and wildness of the 80ft. obstacle course, teachers and staffs were just as willing to get involved and elated to be a part of such enjoyment. Mr. Saltz, Mrs. Payne. Mr. Lockard, Mr. Donnelly, and Dr. Watters all got a signature song for Zumba alongside the vivacious instructor Mrs. Arnstein. It was by far one of the peak moments of the night and will most definitely be revived next year!

And with such moments of upbeatness, there was also sequences of seriousness towards the harsh actuality that lies behind childhood cancer. Before the glow in the dark final celebration, Mr. Norris (Julia’s dad) kindly spoke of his youngest daughter’s journey with pediatric cancer. Julia has embodied from her parents to “stay strong…keep fightin” as her “younger sister had a 20% chance of living, but her parents took the chance and pushed forward”. Norris holds a strong admiration to both her parents and her sister for allowing her to see the strength in never giving up.

Looking ahead into next year, both Kempinski & Gibson hope to kickstart the event earlier to truly foster hype & energy for a longer extent of time greatening the window as well for donations. But there is still much to take away from this year and its fabulous success after a long-awaited hiatus.  Raising a grand total of $24,101, Kempinski hopes that each participant realizes how “each individual person can make a difference”, working together with small monetary donations to build a mold of collaborative impact.

With the revival of Mini-THON, there are many lessons of life and wisdom, the CB East community can also embody. Coming from a sheltered, bubbled world it’s a noble act to take such privilege and devote it to means of goodness and betterment towards others. Mini-THON allows students, staff, and many others to express a genuine exchange of gratitude for the handful of opportunities they have, and the platform gifted to better the world. Gibson most hopes that participants came away from the event knowing just how “lucky they truly are with everything they can do” and the true power you can hold when YOU make a change, together.