After doing a lot of legwork to raise money for pediatric cancer this past year, Connor Bortz and Will Watson will be on their feet once again - but this time for 46 straight hours. And they couldn’t be more excited to lend a hand, and their legs, in an effort to one day eradicate cancer.

The two Whitehall High School graduates will be participating in Penn State’s Thon Feb. 19-21 as dancers, and the two can neither sit nor sleep during the 46-hour event. They’ll be part of an estimated 708 dancers this year who will be shimmying and shaking at the marathon, which marks the end of the fundraising campaign.

Thon, as it’s called, is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, according to its website. It’s also the oldest and longest dance marathon in the country. All the proceeds are funneled to Four Diamonds Fund, which helps bridge the gap between the cost of care and what the patients’ insurance will cover. To date, Thon has raised in excess of $127 million.

Thon began in 1973 and has grown ever since. While most people associate the “We Are Penn State” mantra from the large swath of white-clad students at their home football games, Bortz said it stems from the commitment from the student body to help fight pediatric cancer. In fact, more than 15,000 students volunteer each year, bringing together students from of all the satellite campuses to help in the endeavor.

“It shows the type of people we are [at Penn State] and how you help other people,” Bortz said.

Bortz and Watson’s journey to the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC), where Thon will be held, began the summer of their sophomore year. They were both on campus attending the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, an annual gathering that draws more than 100,000 people to State College. It was during this event that Watson turned to Bortz and said, “Let’s dance our senior year.”

Now, saying let’s dance and actually getting to dance are worlds apart, especially if you aren’t affiliated with a student organization as most who dance at Thon are, but after being involved in the operations committee that winter, Watson and Bortz wanted to get onto the dance floor their last year on campus.

Thon allots only a handful of spots to independent dancers, and that made the road to the BJC even more daunting. First, they had to raise a minimum of $2,500 just to get into the lottery. From that entry point, each additional $650 raised gave them an additional chance, or ticket, in the pool.

Bortz said Watson, who is a nursing student, could have chosen to dance as part of the Student Nursing Association of Penn State, or SNAP, but wanted to share the experience with his good friend. The two formed a bond as linebackers on the Whitehall High School football team during Bortz’s senior season.

Bortz, who has a double major in criminology and sociology, had already experienced Thon as a member of the dancer relations committee. The committee serves as the primary liaison to the volunteers who are dancing at Thon, keeping their spirits up and offering support. Bortz said a tradition among the committee members is also to offer piggyback rides to the dancers. He said you’re paired with a dancer when it’s your shift, making sure they are motivated and energized. That’s when he got his first taste of how really special Thon is and what it means to the children it serves.

He heard them speak, heard their stories and got to see their faces light up when it comes time for the reveal, the culmination of the dance marathon that indicates how much money has been raised throughout the year.

Bortz knows a little about adversity and overcoming a serious ailment when you’re young. While playing youth football in Hokendauqua, Bortz suffered what was later to be determined a stroke. He lost consciousness during practice and woke up in the hospital and was later transferred to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to begin his recovery. He wasn’t able to swallow, and his right side was paralyzed. It looked like a long road back.

Perhaps the worst outcome of all of this, at least in his mind, was his inability to play football, the game he loved. He learned to cope with the loss by volunteering as team manager in a number of sports through middle school and high school.

But every year in his annual trip to CHOP, he would ask his doctors if he could play football. He was surprised to learn that his wish would finally come true his senior season. He played linebacker, and that’s where he and Watson established a tight bond.

With a huge fundraising problem to tackle, the former linebackers met the challenge with the same tenacity they displayed on the gridiron. They mapped out a strategy and began to do the legwork required for a chance to get onto the dance floor. However, they couldn’t go canning, a popular fundraising method that has since been outlawed by Penn State after a fatal accident involving a student.

“We had to get creative,” Bortz said.

Bortz said they went door to door in Whitehall and Coplay asking for donations; they also approached area businesses about donation boxes, getting some installed at Cinnabon and Cold Stone Creamery at Lehigh Valley Mall and at City View Diner in Whitehall, to name a few.

They also held a fundraising event at Buffalo Wild Wings, where they were given a portion of patron’s bills.

Watson also got some help from Penn State Hershey Medical Center, where he is doing an internship this year.

Both received Christmas gifts from their families in the form of donations.

The two also kicked in their own money, and they also got a boost from candy sales generated by Bortz’s father.

With such an outpouring of generosity, Botrz and Watson knew that the Whitehall-Coplay community was a special place indeed.

Watson said that in most instances they were welcomed without hesitation and were often stopped on the sidewalks as they went canvassing. People even approached them while driving to let them know they would be home soon.

“It was really a positive response,” Watson said.

Bortz agreed.

“It was a lot of hard work, but with the generosity of our family and friends and the local businesses, we raised a lot of money,” Bortz said.

Bortz knew that even with all they had done through their fundraising efforts, nothing was guaranteed. Still, they were helping pediatric cancer patients no matter what happened.

“Even if we’re chosen or not, we’re still raising a lot of money for cancer research,” Bortz said.

In the end, he and Watson raised $11,667.67.

Now all they had to do was wait.

Bortz said that was the most nerve-wracking time of all. On the morning when the emails notifying which independents would get to dance went out, Bortz said he was checking his in-box every two minutes. Later he had to go to work and couldn’t check his email to see if they were selected but then received a text from Watson and asked his boss if he could take the call. Watson told him to check his email, and that’s when he found out the pair had made it.

They were dancing.

“I flipped out,” Bortz said. “I went bonkers.”

That moment also brought an overwhelming feeling of joy for Watson, who also understood that being selected was a big responsibility.

“I was really excited, but there was that little bit of fear in the sense of it happening,” Watson said. “It was amazing that it was finally a reality.”

They fulfilled that pact they made the summer of their sophomore year. They’ll be in the BJC where it will be filled to capacity with dancers, as well as cancer patients and their families, all working toward the same goal.

“It’s such a great thing to do,” Bortz said. “You’re doing something for somebody.”