ELK COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — On Wednesday, March 15, the Saint Marys Area Middle School hosted its third annual mini-thon to raise money for the Four Diamonds Foundation. 

Throughout the school day, students got to dance and participate in activities such as music bingo, cornhole, and karaoke as well as buy snacks, t-shirts, and much more. Students and faculty also had the chance to participate in 50/50 drawings. The goal at the beginning of the day was to raise $10,000. 

“So we announced to the students at 11 that we surpassed their goal of $10,000 we were a little over and they just went insane so we said do you think we can beat it guys can we go more and they just went wild,” 7th-8th-grade reading teacher Dana Smith said. 

And the students kept going and crushed their goal. By the end of the day the school was able to raise over $18,000.   

“It’s an incredible feeling to see all of our faculty and staff come together see all of our students come together and watch the day unfold for this great cause it’s an incredible feeling it’s emotional,” 7th-8th-grade reading teacher Beth Penn said. 

The Four Diamond’s mission is to conquer childhood cancer by assisting children and their families through superior care, comprehensive support, and innovative research. Four Diamonds covers 100 percent of all medical expenses related to cancer care not covered by insurance for eligible children. 

“Well because other kids like us could be going through the same thing so raising this money is like an amazing thing to help out other people and make sure everyone is ok,” 8th-grade student Taylor Gornati said. 

“You never know what families are going through like their children are just getting diagnosed with this horrible disease and you just need to help them,” 8th-grade student Megan Shine said. 

A major part of all of this is the St. Marys community. With different sponsors, each child and staff member receives a free t-shirt and some companies are creating special drinks and giving proceeds to the cause. 

“Our mini-thon wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t for our community. We reached out to people and they were so generous,” Smith said.