Thon Marketing Captain Megan Collins bought about 125 of the blue Thon bracelets shortly after they were first released.

"I know a lot of people were anticipating them coming out, and I didn't want them to get sold out," she said.

She said she brought some of the bracelets to her organization, Circle K, to sell to the members and gave the rest to family and friends to help spread the word.

"We've had two orders going to England and an order going to Hong Kong," Thon Store Chair Rafael Toro said. "It is great that we are creating awareness in places far away from State College."

The blue bracelets supporting the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (Thon) have been on sale for just over two months and have already raised about $54,000 for pediatric cancer research.

Since their release on Nov. 10 at the 100 days until Thon celebration, almost 27,000 bracelets have been sold, Marketing Chair Eric Malis said.

"The bracelets were in such high demand that we currently only have youth bracelets," Public Relations Chair Carrie Konosky said. "Adult size bracelets will be available again during Thon weekend."

Konosky said bracelets can be bought for $2 at www.thon.org, in the section marked "Thon Store," at the Student Bookstore, 330 E. College Ave., or at the Penn State Bookstore in the HUB-Robeson Center.

The bracelets, which say "THON" on one side and "FOR THE KIDS" on the other side, are also being sold at commonwealth campuses and at the Hershey Medical Center. The bracelets have been modeled after Lance Armstrong's yellow LiveStrong bracelets, which have raised more than $20 million for cancer research.

Thon Store Chair Hillary Cohen said that about 1,330 bracelets have been sold on the Web site.

"Most orders off the Thon store are just bracelet orders or they include a bracelet within their order," Cohen said. "Lots of people buy in 10 packs or more."

Konosky said there was no initial goal set for the amount of money raised because the main reason for the bracelets was to raise awareness of pediatric cancer and the Four Diamonds Fund.

Other universities are also either selling or thinking about selling the bracelets for their own causes.

The University of Michigan holds a 30-hour dance marathon to raise money for children needing physical rehabilitation. Jessica Zebracki, a recreation assistant in Michigan's athletics department, said they also sell blue bracelets to raise money for C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.

"They have been a big hit," Zebracki said. "We've raised a couple of thousand dollars."

Zebracki said the university hopes to raise as much money as Penn State's Thon bracelets have.

University of Florida dance marathon Marketing Chair Nicole Minotti said she heard about Penn State's Thon bracelets and is considering selling them to benefit the 2006 dance marathon there.

"We liked the idea, especially after we heard how much they raised," she said. "We would love to do it for next year's dance marathon."

Malis said the idea to make Thon bracelets was a result of group collaboration on the Thon overall committee.

"It was an idea that was tossed around for a while," he said. "We all contributed to the idea."

Malis said it is too early to tell whether the Thon bracelets will become an annual tradition.

"The purpose of the bracelets are to create awareness and be used as a unifying tool," he said. "As long as the goals are kept, we may continue this successful fundraiser."