Tears of joy. Tears of sorrow. The uncontrollable emotions of BASD miniTHON run high and low, but it is all For The Kids (FTK).

The Bethlehem Area School District (BASD) community has immensely been changed in the past year by BASD miniTHON, and it is once again that time of year to prepare for the fight to conquer pediatric cancer.

Sign ups for the 12-hour dance marathon happened between March 10 through March 21. MiniTHON is no longer just an idea as it was last year, but now an established organization that strives for student involvement in finding a cure. The president of Mini-THON at Freedom this year, senior Evan Anthony, is excited to give back to the community with Freedom and Liberty's collaborative effort.

"I worked with Eileen [Seitz] all four years of student council, and towards the end of the year, she and I spent a lot of time together. Unfortunately, she had to leave, so she trusted me to take over," Anthony said.

He mentioned that this Anthony said.

He mentioned that this year the support system for miniTHON has grown enormously, especially with student participation and corporate involvement. Last year, only 500 students participated, but this year Anthony is expecting anywhere from 800 to 1,000 people to come out and support the cause.

"After all the work and planning, no matter the outcome, we will be proud and feel accomplished, but there is no doubt it will be a raging success," Anthony said.

The leadership of miniTHON changes each year. Anthony was groomed and sculpted by Eileen Seitz, a current freshman at Penn State and driving force behind the establishment of BASD miniTHON.

"I wanted to start BASD miniTHON because I saw Penn State's THON, and afterwards I heard that Liberty wanted to have one. I didn't want it to be a competition, so we decided to work together to do amazing things for the community," Seitz explained.

Seitz has gone from being a "big fish in a small pond" at FHS to being a "small fish in one of the biggest ponds" since she joined Penn State's THON this year.

"I'm very happy that the legacy is living on and that Freedom and Liberty will be doing more for the Four Diamonds families. I know it will be more amazing than last year, and I have Evan and the committee members to thank," said Seitz.

Another important benefactor for BASD miniTHON is William Safranek, FHS astronomy teacher. During the fall, Safranek's class raised over $10,000 for the cause during a "No Shave November" contest. He emotionally connected his students by making them watch videos and research articles about pediatric cancer.

"I found a website where parents told their stories about their kids who have pediatric cancer," Safranek said. "So after this, their warm up was to read everyday a story a parent wrote about their child in which you may not find out if they lived or not till the last sentence, if you found out at all."

The members of the committee are bursting with anticipation for the event, which will occur on Sat., April 26. This includes Alyssa Villani, junior, who will be taking the lead student role next year.

"I feel I am very well prepared for next year. Evan gave me the opportunity to tag along with everything he did, and in the end, all the work is worth it," Villani said.