More than anything else, I wish we did not have Thon.

My friends and I dream of the day in which we will not have to participate in Thon because no Thon means no more childhood cancer.

Until that day arrives, my organization and I will raise money on every possible weekend not for our own personal satisfaction, but to help ease the pain of the families we have grown close to thanks to the Four Diamonds Fund.

In Trisha Fitzgerald's column ("Too many participate in Thon to follow the 'fad,'" Feb. 23) she implies that organizations that raise the most money think that they care more about the kids than other organizations do. Although the entire article made me livid, this statement in particular got under my skin.

I would like to speak on behalf of my organization in saying that although we raise a lot of money for Thon, we do it solely for the kids.

We don't do it to "win."

We appreciate everything that other organizations, committee members, overalls and the Four Diamonds Fund do for the kids.

Many of us are on committees because we want to support Thon in any way we can.

If you haven't noticed, most philanthropic events include competition.

So what if people have competitive drives for Thon?

The bottom line is that they are getting more money for the Four Diamonds Fund and that means a better chance for these kids to live.

The kids are our inspiration and in our eyes they will always be the true beneficiaries of Thon.