Blue White Ball Raises Money For Penn State's THON

Originally postponed due to the February snowstorm, The Blue White Ball was held March 6 at Heinz Field.

More than one hundred guests attended to support the event benefiting The Four Diamonds Fund and The Penn State Dance Marathon (THON) whose mission is to conquer pediatric cancer.

Attendees at The Blue White Ball enjoyed an action-packed night.

After dinner, tours of Heinz Field were offered that included a visit to the Steelers locker room. A silent auction was also held on more than 50 items, including various Pittsburgh and Penn State signed sports memorabilia.

A number of special guests were also in attendance for the night, including the Messina family. Renee Messina told the story of her daughter Isabella’s leukemia diagnosis when she was only 20 months old. After undergoing months of chemotherapy at Hershey Medical Center, and later a relapse, Isabella was eventually saved by a bone marrow transplant from her younger brother Jack.

Renee explained how THON and The Four Diamonds Fund has helped their family cope financially with the high cost of medical bills and gratefully told the audience: “They say that THON is FTK, for the kids. But today I am here to thank you FMK, for my kid.”

“I’ve always heard about THON as someone who did not go to Penn State,” explained Blue White Ball guest Lauren Larson, “but never knew the charity aspect. It was a great event to shed light on the cause and hear from the Messina family who have benefited from The Four Diamonds Fund.”

Tara Wheeler (Miss Virginia 2008), Jay Paterno, and the Nittany Lion mascot were also in attendance to shine light on the mission of The Four Diamonds Fund and to keep the crowd enthusiastic. The Nittany Lion even did his legendary one-handed pushups to raise extra money for the cause.

Patrick Fennell, Jennifer Hein, Kristen Murcko, and Kristen Rimer served as Co-Chairs for the 2010 Blue White Ball and led the Dance Marathon Alumni Interest Group committee in Pittsburgh. The foursome worked diligently over the past year to make the night at Heinz Field a huge success.

“As a co-chairperson for this event, I am so proud to be able to bring such an amazing Penn State fundraiser to the Pittsburgh area,” explained Kristen Rimer. “We couldn't have done it without the support of the Penn State Community and our key partners here in Pittsburgh.”

Although The Blue White Ball was held this year after THON on February 21st due to the snow postponement, a $4,000 pledge was made by the Dance Marathon Alumni Interest Group in Pittsburgh as a contribution to the 2010 total. The committee is hoping though that the final 2010 Blue White Ball total will come close to 2009, when they raised $10,000 at the event.

In total, THON 2010 raised $7,838,054.36.

Since 1977, the organization held at Penn State University’s main campus has raised over $61 million dollars for The Four Diamond’s Fund at Penn State’s Children’s Hospital. As the largest run student philanthropy in the world, it’s alumni roots now stretch far. The Blue White Ball is one such example of Penn State alumni taking part in the Pittsburgh community to make a difference.

Four Diamonds, 3 Rivers, 1 Dream. To obtain more information about The Blue White Ball and the Pittsburgh Dance Marathon Alumni Interest Group, visit www.pittsburghdmaig.com.

Article and Slideshow by Christina Morgan, WPXI