THON 2011 raises more than $9.5 million

GAMMA OMEGA (Penn State) — Once again this year, the 46-hour Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon exceeded all expectations and raised a record $9,563,016.09 for the Four Diamonds Fund, topping last year’s record $7.8 million.

The top five fundraisers among campuses were Altoona with $89,728.24; Fayette with $86,094.38; New Kensington with $52,392.69; Berks with $48,876.96; and Hazleton with $30,694.07.

Atlas topped fundraisers for special interest organizations, raising $381,884.97. Rounding out the top five in the category were Ohana with $229,409.34; Springfield with $207,244.76; Pillar with $101,690.94; and FOTO with $86,934.50.

In the Greek organizations category, Zeta Tau Alpha and Alpha Tau Omega topped the list with $327,786.51, followed by Alpha Chi Omega and Pi Kappa Phi with $196,172.82; Alpha Sigma Alpha and Lambda Chi Alpha with $182,296.10; Gamma Phi Beta and Acacia with $158,785.89; and Pi Beta Phi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon with $139,750.15.

More than 15,000 Penn State students participated in making THON happen FTK — “For the Kids,” from the 708 students selected as dancers to the thousands of students who helped them raise funds, and thousands more who are volunteering during THON weekend to boost dancers’ morale, keep them fed and entertained, make sure they stay safe and share the THON experience around the world via streaming video.

Photos from throughout the weekend are available online. For photos from Friday, visit http://live.psu.edu/stilllife/2431; from Saturday, visit http://live.psu.edu/stilllife/2433 and from Sunday visit http://live.psu.edu/stilllife/2434 online. Additional photos from throughout the weekend can be found at http://live.psu.edu/stilllife/2432 online.