North Allegheny TigerThon is a student-run dance marathon organized throughout the school year in hopes of raising money to spread awareness for pediatric cancer. The event is held in March each year. However, there are different events held throughout the school year to raise as much money possible prior to the dance marathon. This past Saturday, on January 18th, families in the community were brought together at Lemieux Sports Complex to skate for the cause. 

“I think it’s a great time for the kids, coming out here and skating around,” committee member Will Frisco said. “It’s also great for us as students, too, because we get to have fun while supporting the kids and the cause.” 

The event was held from 7:00-9:00 PM and tickets were ten dollars each (including admission and skate rental). Students, staff, and others in the community were able to sign up several weeks in advance. TigerThon received 50% of the proceeds of each ticket purchase if attendees signed up through the TigerThon-specific link. 

“This was an event that we did not do last year,” explained TigerThon head event captain Carli Leonard. “So we honestly had no idea how it was going to go.”

Shortly after the skate, however, Leonard’s uncertainty had vanished.

“It went really well,” she said. “We had over 100 people come out , and we raised roughly $1,000.” 

For captain Kate Adams, the turnout was heartwarming.

“It’s just a really awesome way to get the community together and do something really fun that we wouldn’t normally do,” Adams said.

The highlight of the evening was the arrival of one of two TigerThon patient ambassadors. Ten-year-old Brody, his brother Cayden, and his parents were able to attend the event and skate through the evening.

“It was really great for him to be there and have him meet all of the captains and the captains meet him,” added Leonard.

Brody certainly did not disappoint, as he and his brother wore NA Hockey jerseys on the ice.

For captain Will Cinker, the loads of extra work required to manage TigerThon are hardly a problem.

“None of this feels like hard work or a job because we love what we do,” Cinker said.

Scheduled for March 28th, the TigerThon dance marathon promises to be bigger than ever. The organization plans to host more fun and new events leading up to the big night, all in support of the cause — no child fights alone.