This Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at 11:00, North Hills High School’s Student Council and Hands for Service clubs hosted their biggest fundraising event of the year, Community THON, at Martorelli Stadium. This event, along with the high school nighttime THON, raises money for the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Pittsburgh and Make-A-Wish.
Using both fields at the stadium, the club, sponsored by Ms. Jen DiPasquale and Mrs. Amy Patsilevas, put together a series of games, selection of food, and replication of sports all in one area. Ms. DiPasquale has been the sponsor for this club for years, hosting and coordinating NHTHON for nine. She says, “We have been working so hard all year for this event. We have come up with new fundraisers and other ways to add to our funds with the hope of reaching our $20,000 goal.” Additionally, her partner, Mrs. Patsilevas, has been doing this by her side since their first ever THON. Patsilevas adds, “This fundraiser has always been an incredible way for the kids to raise money for other boys and girls who are struggling, and try to give them a better experience due to their illness.” This event runs for about four hours, and is entirely free for the community. There are games including ring toss, inflatable obstacle courses and slides, Plinko, and a miniature ball pit, perfect for children of all ages. In addition to the fun that can be had at Community THON, families have the opportunity to win basket raffle prizes generously donated to the club by small businesses, local companies, and even North Hills faculty and families.
All of the money that is collected from family donations, basket raffle tickets, food purchases, and “Slime your Principal” nomination tickets is put directly towards the funds going to the Make-A-Wish and Children’s Hospital Foundation of Pittsburgh. This year, the club’s goal was to reach $20,000 in donations to send to these foundations, and they surpassed this value at $21,316. Officer Marina Bolinda was shocked at the amount of money raised. She says, “I couldn’t believe how much money we raised. We went over our goal by $1,000, and that was so awesome to see our senior year.” Throughout the course of the school year, the club members have been hosting multiple fundraising events, including Trunk or Treat, the Cookie Walk, and the Powderpuff Game in order to raise money for the Make-A-Wish and Children’s Hospital Foundation of Pittsburgh charities. All of those monies collected were put toward this year’s fundraising efforts, as well.
Make-A-Wish and Children’s Hospital Foundation of Pittsburgh are local foundations that work together to support children diagnosed with critical diseases, some even fatal. Through Make-A-Wish, children from the ages of 2-17 are able to wish for anything that they want, and as long as it is approved by the foundation, their wish will come true. The club’s motivation throughout this year has been raising money for their Wish Kid, and hopefully for North Hills’ own Tenley Price, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, in the future. Coming to Pittsburgh in 1983, the Make-A-Wish foundation has helped to better the lives of thousands of suffering children who are in need of some light and excitement. By granting wishes, it has been proven that the wish children are more likely to be excited for treatments, and even possibly have a better recovery chance. The fact that their dreams are able to come true despite their illness is unbelievable to them, and Student Council and Hands for Service works incredibly hard to make sure every sick child gets this opportunity.
