Four Diamonds Fund gives monetary, emotional help

By Gretchen E. Gailey
and Cindy Koons
Collegian Staff Writers

When a child is diagnosed with cancer in the pediatric hospital of the Hershey Medical Center, insurance might pick up the bill — but for everything else, there is Four Diamonds.

The Four Diamonds Fund, an entity of Penn State, receives 86 percent of its money from the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, said Kirsten Werme, fund coordinator.

After diagnosis, a social worker from Four Diamonds meets with the family members to discuss how Four Diamonds will subsidize costs their insurance does not cover, Werme said.

She added the Hershey Medical Center will accept any child who needs treatment.

"The fund is so strong at this point that it can support any patient," Werme said.

According to Werme, the fund has been able to grow primarily through the work of Thon.

"As far as we know, there's no other fund in existence like Four Diamonds," she said.

Families can receive vouchers to aid with other expenses such as gas and meals and, if necessary, the fund can cover heat and electric bills on a one-time-only basis.

At any given time, the Four Diamonds Fund supports about 500 active families in some manner, Werme said.

Primarily, the fund supports patients in central Pennsylvania, but has occasionally assisted families outside the area, Werme said.

Along with direct support to the families, the fund has created services for the patients, which were initiated within the past few years.

They include child life services, clinical nutrition, clinical psychology and music therapy, Werme said. Specialized nurses and social workers also are examples of how funding has expanded the organization, she added.

"All of this would not be possible if we didn't have the support of dance marathon," Werme said.

Most of Thon's money comes from canning, said Josh Grim, overall chair of Thon's financial committee.

"Students go out and stand on street corners and get nickels, dimes and quarters one at a time," Grim said.

The next largest portion of the donations comes from students going door to door asking people to fill out pledge forms. Corporations also play a large part in the contributions, Grim added.

MBNA is probably the largest corporate donor to Thon this year, with a donation of $25,000 and possibly with another $5,000 on the way, Grim said.

Part of the remaining 14 percent of the funding is raised by local high schools who create mini-marathons modeled after Thon, Werme said.

Along with these marathons, local restaurants, companies and individuals in the community donate to Four Diamonds, she added.

"Our only goal is to have a great weekend and raise money for the kids," Grim said.

In 1999, the pediatric research conducted at Hershey Medical Center began receiving $1 million annually to continue supporting cancer research work through the next five years.

Dr. Barbara Miller, chair of the Four Diamonds Research Institute, said though she receives money through both grants and state funding, the money from Thon provides the stability she needs to continue her research.

Most recently, the funding has supported research on the control of blood cell production and regulation of gene expression, she said.

The ultimate goal will be to study how these new genes are involved in Leukemia cell growth and eventually provide treatment methods, Miller added.

"It's extremely expensive in human molecular studies," she said, adding it costs about $6,000 to $10,000 a month to run her lab, which is a relatively small one.

Miller said the new project slated for this year is an analysis that will identify additional genes in normal and Leukemia cell growth.

"Whenever you do the work, you are frequently reminded and very grateful to those who dance and participate in Thon, which makes it all possible," she said.