Students might have been walking door-to-door around State College this past weekend, but they weren't trick-or-treating early.

Instead, this weekend marked the official beginning of the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon fundraising season.

National Society of Minorities in Hospitality Thon Chair Liz Wilson said collecting money early in the year is important so everyone has a chance to donate to the dance marathon, which benefits pediatric cancer research.

"More time means more money, and more money means more for the kids," Wilson said.

Collecting money beginning in October allows organizations ample time to solicit door-to-door donations and call people and corporations, said Natalie Walence, co-chair for Delta Theta Sigma, 101 N. Patterson St., a co-ed agriculture fraternity.

Pledge booking, the most common form of fundraising, involves asking for donations but billing the donor closer to the actual date of the dance marathon in February. Walence said pledge booking is a great way to collect money because canning trips occur only during four designated weekends later in the year.

"The earlier we start fundraising, the more potential we have to break our record from last year," Walence said. "Each penny we raise brings us closer to a cure for cancer."

Public Relations Overall Chair Jaclyn Christopher said the start of fundraising is a thrilling time for everyone involved.

"Having the fundraising window open to kick off the Thon season is really exciting," Christopher said. "I'm really excited to see what each organization is going to do this year."

According to Thon's Web site, www.thon.org, $4,122,483.65 was raised last year, and student involvement is growing, with more than 10,000 students supporting Thon 2006. "I think our hardest goal will be to break $5 million," Walence said. "But I'm sure in the next few years, we can do it."

Wilson said fundraisers who collect pledge booking donations this weekend will receive extra hours on the Thon floor and extra floor passes.

Stephanie Small (sophomore-business) said she enjoyed pledge booking this weekend because of the importance of Thon. "I do it because it's for a really good cause," she said. "It feels great to see everyone supporting Thon because the kids really need our help."

Thon fundraising also includes letter solicitation, corporate donations and various money-raising events.

Wilson said it's important to begin fundraising as soon as possible.

"Hopefully, we will surpass last year's amount because every year the total goes up, and we get more and more motivated and keep perfecting our fundraising abilities," Wilson said.