Mini-Thon Interview with Katie Hebe

Mini-Thon is a club here at West Chester East started by Katie Hebe earlier this year. Katie Hebe started the club because of her own personal experience with this cause. 

Question 1: What does the Mini Thon do? 

Answer 1: “So the club is called Mini thon, they have something similar at Penn state but it’s just called THON. For them it’s a 48 hour dance marathon to raise money for kids and families that are fighting cancer. For us it’s a two hour or a little less dance marathon with fun activities leading up to it. And we do fundraisers all year round for it and then have the mini thon in either April or May where we show the final numbers of the money that we raised all year.”

Question 2: What have you learned and what skills have you strengthened through starting this club? 

Answer 2: “I’d say I’ve definitely strengthened my team working and communication skills after starting this club, I’ve also learned to try and be more patient and calm because it’s all a lot to do and take in at times.”

Question 3: What do you plan to achieve through your club both this year and overall big picture? 

Answer 3: “Since this is our first year with the club I’m keeping my goals small but my hope is that we’ll raise $50,000 this year, and we’re already on a good track. For the future I’m hoping this club continues for a long time and becomes more popular like it is at the other schools that do it. We’re hoping to get the whole school involved at some point, we’re also getting the elementary schools and middle school involved in some ways as well, but that’s to be determined. Hopefully as years go on and the club continues and gets bigger we’ll raise more money each year.”

Question 4: What made you start this club? And what makes you passionate about this topic?

Answer 4: “I was diagnosed at the end of April with stage four lung cancer and experiencing everything was tough for me and my family and all the people close to me. To pay for all the bills, surgeries, all the different medications, etc. is a lot of money. So to be able to help other families not have to be as scared about the whole process and stressed about paying all the bills, or just small amounts is great because this stuff can be really expensive. What makes me so passionate about this apart from my own diagnosis is that there’s so many kids all over the world that are or have been fighting this horrible disease, and technically there’s “no cure” for cancer but lots of ways to help it and reduce it, so to be able to help by donating money to go to finding a possible cure for this is great because no one should have to fight this disease alone.”

Question 5: How can we as a community play a part in positivity affecting this cause?

Answer 5: “As a community there are several different things people can do to help the fight against childhood cancer. First being, spread the word about our club and what it does, and then follow our account on instagram which will lead you to our fundraising page. Ask how you can donate your time: from helping with bake sales by making or buying baked goods or helping run the table, coming to meetings, and helping with other fundraising events. Finally encouraging more people to join the club because we’re still so small and we want to get the word out.”

Information: 

Instagram: wce_minithon

Schoology Code: KH33-CNZS-XZXR8

Thank you Katie Hebe for agreeing to do this interview!