Children with cancer and their siblings will have the chance to participate in new activities at this weekend's Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.

"Project SIBS" is a new way for the siblings of pediatric cancer patients to help organize and contribute to Thon.

About 60 siblings of age 4 and up will receive a special floor pass to participate in the committee of their choice, such as receptions, morale, security and operations, said Suzanne Green, Thon family relations captain.

"They have the chance to get involved with the committee that most interests them," she said.

Another new program is Penn State Wish, modeled after the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that grants the wishes of children afflicted with life-threatening illnesses, Amy Nawrocki, Thon's overall family relations captain, said.

The 72 children Thon sponsors were given a list of 22 "wishes" to choose from, which include a chance to participate as a cheerleader or water carrier at this weekend's men's basketball game, a limousine ride around State College and a meeting with the Nittany Lion mascot. Other activities include a tour of the University Creamery and a chance to see how Penn State students eat in Waring Dining Commons in West Halls.

The children picked their top five choices, and most of them were given their first or second choice, Nawrocki said.

Green said Project SIBS and Penn State Wish will increase involvement in Thon.

"I think the programs speak for themselves," she said. "They're both good opportunities for everyone to get involved in the weekend."

Another new activity to take place this weekend will occur Saturday morning in Rec Hall, when 14 Penn State students and a 6-year-old girl will appear on stage to each donate 10 inches of their hair. The hair will be donated to Locks of Love, a philanthropic organization that makes free wigs for children who have lost hair for medical reasons, such as chemotherapy treatment, said Amy Deatrich, Thon communications captain.

After 15 local hair stylists cut the 10 inches of hair on stage, the donors will go to the stylists' salons to receive a new hair cut. At about 4 p.m., the donors will return to reveal their new hair styles.

The Hershey Medical Center nominates Thon children sponsored by The Four Diamonds Fund, the organization that sponsors Thon families and receives Thon funding, for Locks of Love wigs.

No one will know for sure if some of the children sponsored by Thon will receive the wigs made from the donors' hair, since Locks of Love gives its wigs anonymously, she said.

"They (the wigs) absolutely could, and most likely will, go to children of Four Diamonds Families," she said.

Deatrich said the free wigs help children to think less about their cancer.

"The children who receive these wigs will receive a sense of normality in their lives," she said. "It allows them to take their minds off their disease."

Melissa Rosmarin, a Thon morale captain who will be donating her hair, also said the wigs help children feel less different from their peers.

"It's really sad that these children have to lose their hair and go to school different from everybody," she said. "It's a wonderful feeling that I donated something from myself to a child."