Each year, students from Bellefonte High School raise money that goes toward the THON Four Diamonds foundation and research being done to find a cure for childhood cancer. Around the state of Pennsylvania, as well as  the United States as a whole, schools raise money for their own Mini-THON, which is then donated at the end of their school year to the overall THON organization. 

At BHS, Student Council is in charge of planning and running different events. In the past the club has raised thousands of dollars for the foundation, last year totaling over $10,000. This year with a new advisor, the club has not changed their expectations, the group has set their goal at $12,000 and are very hopeful that they can reach that number through help from the students and from the community. 

Student Council has hosted a few events so far this year, and plans to host more during the rest of the school year and in future years. The most recent event that the club hosted was last month at the Bellefonte vs. Philipsburg-Osceola basketball game. The goal for the night was, as always, to raise as much money as possible for the kids with a number goal of $1,000, however they ended up exceeding the goal.

“We raised $1,292 from the combined efforts of our basketball booster program and Student Council canning this past Friday. Our goal this year is to raise $12,000. I can proudly say we are more than halfway to our goal,” BHS history teacher and club advisor Mrs. Christine Morris said.

During the first half of the school year, the club hosted a volleyball tournament, worked with businesses for donations, and has done canning at many sporting events to raise money. 

The basketball game against Philipsburg-Osceola occurred about halfway through the school year, and during the second half of the year, Student Council has no intentions of stopping the work that they have done. 

“We will be hosting a Dodgeball tournament on Friday, March 3 along with two restaurant fundraising nights within the next month. Our first is February 9 at Texas Roadhouse and our second at Robin Hood Brewing (Home D) in March, although there is not a confirmed date at this time. We have also talked about doing a cornhole tournament in May,” Mrs. Morris said.

There is true belief within the school, and especially within Student Council, that the goal of $12,000 will be reached and exceeded if the entire school is able to get involved. The goal for this year, along with raising money, is simply to raise awareness throughout the school and the community.

During the basketball game all hands were on deck, helping to setup and run events coming from everywhere. At halftime of the game, the family of a young girl, Kennedy Wilson, who was diagnosed with medulloblastoma cancer in 2019 was invited to speak and explain their story of how they worked with Four Diamonds throughout her treatment and how helpful the organization was to help Kennedy beat cancer and continue to be cancer free for three and a half years. After the Wilsons spoke there was a teddy bear toss and basket raffle winners were chosen. 

Along with all of the festivities, the Bellefonte boys basketball team ended up winning a very tightly played game against Philipsburg-Osceola with a final score of 50-38. 

“All the events were extremely successful. The basketball boosters were also extremely valuable in planning the entire evening,” Mrs. Morris said.