THON

The brothers of the Alpha Delta chapter of The Chi Phi Fraternity at Penn State are excited to announce that we were able to collectively raise $73,759.10 for THON 2023 with our sorority partner, Phi Sigma Rho, in support of the fight against pediatric cancer. This was our first year being paired with Phi Sigma Rho, and we broke our all-time house record for fundraising. THON was first organized in 1973 by a group of students looking to make a change in the community and has turned into the largest student-run philanthropy in the entire world.

As primary THON chair for our chapter, I worked endlessly with our other chairs including Massimo Frix (Alternative Fundraising), Dylan Verschleiser (Family Relations), Tyler Wszolek (Donor/Alumni Relations), and Andrew Osborn (THON Weekend) in order to support our families and the battle against childhood cancer.

Our chapter participates in THON so that one day we never have to again, but specifically for our three amazing THON children and their families: Mina Horan, Josiah Garcia, and Adley Gordon. This year, we were introduced to Adley and her family as they are our newest THON family. Adley is currently three years old and was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in February of 2022. Over the past year, we have introduced Adley and her family to our chapter house to spend time with all the brothers of Chi Phi and the sisters of Phi Sigma Rho, and we drove to Mont Alto to do a polar plunge for on her behalf. Adley’s story and the fight against cancer is truly inspiring and we are proud to say that we will be supporting her on her journey as she keeps kicking cancer’s ass. Some fundraisers that we held over the last two semesters included a date auction, pie-a-phi, bake sale, and our annual THON Gala in which we got to hear Mina and her family’s journey as she has been cancer-free since July of 2019. We also traveled to Hershey Park in October with Mina and her family as well as Josiah. Being able to support our THON children and their families is our biggest goal. Kids deserve to be kids and not have to worry about anything else, so when we are able to put a huge smile on their faces by doing little things like sitting on FaceTime with them for an hour or inviting them out with us, it truly feels incredible.

Thank you to our Chi Phi Alumni for your continuous support as we continue to THON. You all have truly helped make a difference, and it is difficult to put into words how thankful the brothers of the Alpha Delta chapter are for all that you do.

In Scarlet and Blue,

Ryley Opielski

Primary THON Chair