A penny saved is a penny earned for the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.

As the last canning weekend of 2003 approaches, Thon-goers are anxious to spend their Valentine's weekend outside in the cold to raise money for the Four Diamonds Fund.

Temperatures for the Centre region are forecasted to be around 19 degrees, but it will feel more like 4 degrees, according to The Weather Channel.

"I would say the thing about canning is it can be absolutely freezing, and you have these flash moments of 'why am I out here?' But then you'll have this one car drive up to you and they'll tell you, 'Thank you,'" said Mary Kaye Jacono (junior-English), Panhellenic president. "And at that moment you remember why you're out there, and it isn't so bad anymore."

Canister solicitation, or canning, is one of the primary method organizations use to raise money for Thon. More than 60 percent of Thon funds are raised through canning. "I think canning has a huge impact for an organization," Jacono said. "Most of their totals come from it."

Jacono said canning makes students work for the money, and this allows them to appreciate it much more.

"I go a little nuts with Thon. People know when they go with me they have to stand outside for at least eight hours," Jenifer Restori (senior-management) said. "For as long as I make my people stand there, they know it is for the greater cause, so they smile and get excited for our family."

"We stand on street corners and intersections where there is a lot of traffic," Ivy Wolinsky (freshman-education). She said Alpha Omicron Pi sorority usually raises $2,000 to $3,500 on each trip.