Four Diamonds Mini-Thon is an event that encourages students between the grades of Kindergarten and 12th to participate in the fight against childhood cancer. The organization has helped more than 4,800 children and families since its establishment in 1972.
According to FourDiamonds, the idea came from an 11 year old boy named Christopher Millard, who was diagnosed with cancer in 1969. His parents, Charles and Irma Millard founded and named Four Diamonds after a story their son had written before losing his three year battle. The story was about a knight who searched for the four diamonds: courage, wisdom, honesty, and strength. These diamonds would release the knight from the grips of an evil sorceress.
The organization was created to not only honor their son but to help other children who are battling cancer. Christopher Millard and his story lives on as an inspiration for children and their families.
Mini-Thon has been a tradition at Stroudsburg for the past 11 years. Over the course of those years, the students and community have raised over $500,000 for children with cancer. This past Saturday, Stroudsburg High School held their Mini-Thon event from 10 in the morning until 10 at night.
The day started in the school’s auditorium, where a presentation was given by Ms. Sarah Davis about what Mini-Thon is and why we do it. Davis has been the advisor of Mini-Thon since the 2018-2019 school year.
“Our event was 3 weeks earlier than last year and I was out for the whole first semester on maternity leave,” says Davis. “The student executive team worked so incredibly hard.”
Coach James Miller gave a motivational speech to boost morale and school spirit as students stood and followed the marching band into the gym.
There were a multitude of activities for students to participate in throughout the day such as the color wars, where teams competed against each other for points.
Each team was determined based on the color of the shirt that the student wore. There were a total of seven teams: gold, purple, pink, blue, green, orange, and the executives (black).
The competition spanned the whole day with the executives claiming victory of the color war with the most points by the end of the night.
“The best part of Mini-Thon is seeing everyone have fun!”
— Nicole Munson, 12.
Other activities included soccer, pickleball, corn hole, spike ball, karaoke, Just Dance, and so much more. In between all the fun activities, a line dance was done by participants at the start of each of the twelve hours. The dance was choreographed by the Mini-Thon executives and taught to students at the start of the event.
Performers involved in our high school musical got on stage and sang and danced to songs from this year’s musical “The Prom.” This was followed by a heartfelt speech by Joey Fantozzi, 12.
Fantozzi shared his childhood story and experiences with his battle against leukemia, a type of blood cancer. He reminded his peers of why they were at Mini-Thon and the importance of treasuring every joyous moment with your friends.
Once 10 pm struck, the final line dance was done and students counted down to sit. To close the night a speech was given by Senior Overall, Megan Wagner. The responsibilities of the overalls is to oversee all the other committees involved in Mini-Thon and assist with any tasks or questions that come up.
Wagner’s speech consisted of thank yous, as well as beautiful words about what Mini-Thon has meant to her, and encouragement to the Junior Overall, Ameila Nieman, and Sophomore Overall, Athena Skarlis.
“Mini-Thon is about being a part of something bigger than yourself,” expresses Wagner. “It’s such a meaningful cause, and it means a lot that I could be a part of it. We dance for the kids who can’t.”
Aiden Ingenito, 9, was the top fundraiser for this year’s Mini-Thon, raising a total of $2,356. Ingenito was recognized and called to the stage to aid in the revealing of the money raised by the high school.
As Ingenito and the executives stood on stage, eager students waited for the reveal of the total amount, $90,801.05!
As confetti flew through the air, the students of Stroudsburg High School celebrated another successful Mini-Thon.
