The Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon is known for doing things in a big way. Big amounts of people putting the event together, big hours spent getting ready for the weekend, not to mention the big hours spent dancing.

But this year the marathon did things in a bigger way than ever.

Raising $671,573 -- more than $171,573 past the marathon's goal --the philanthropy broke all of its own past records.

Proceeds from the dance marathon go to the Four Diamonds Fund, which helps child cancer patients at Hershey Medical Center. The fund helped 320 children last year, and has never turned a patient away yet.

Marathon organizers and participants on all levels deserve praise for their time and work.

Students on the overall committee spent months preparing for the event, lining up entertainers, securing first aid and security crews. Morale and entertainment committee members took time and energy to plan innovative ways of keeping dancers going. The physical plant committee had the unglamorous job of keeping the dance floor clean and safe.

Of course the dancers deserve their share of the accolades. Before the dancing ever began, they were busy collecting pledges and donations. And the people and businesses that gave donations made it possible for the marathon to break the half-million dollar mark this year.

The marathon receives a lot of national attention each year because it is billed as the largest student-run philanthropy in the United States. The people behind the event can be proud of a big job well-done.