State College Mini-Thon to host Saturday breakfast

Pancakes or ice cream — take your pick.

You could also double down and have both.

State College middle schools Mini-Thon adviser Nanci Rommel expects 150 to 200 people at the 2nd annual Kids in Candy Land fundraiser for Four Diamonds.

Mini-Thons are inspired by the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon on a smaller scale. The State College Mini-Thon hosts fundraising events throughout the year and culminates in a seven-hour dance marathon in the spring.

The breakfast will be for elementary school students from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Mount Nittany Elementary School. Rommel said the general public is invited, too. There is no admission fee, but a $5 donation per person is suggested.

It’s a feast that will be enjoyed by pancake and ice cream lovers alike, but mostly by the Smith family.

Victoria Smith, a 13-year- old eighth-grader, has come full circle in her fight with cancer.

“She was a 21-pound, fragile little girl,” her mother, Stephanie Smith, said. “Now she’s a girl in a wheelchair who likes to arm wrestle.”

Victoria was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia 10 years ago. Her last dose of chemotherapy, however, was in 2008.

She is a survivor and a Four Diamonds child. The family has dedicated itself to helping other families with children battling cancer.

“It’s unbelievable (to call her a cancer survivor), and I’m not sure there’s really a word for it,” Stephanie Smith said. “At times we thought it wouldn’t be possible, so we’re happy, thrilled and proud of her. There isn’t a word that combines all of that.”

Victoria is also a volunteer for State College middle schools’ Mini-Thon.

“She enjoys it a lot,” her mother said. “She really likes raising money and informing the world about the wonderful work Thon and Four Diamonds does. We feel blessed to have them, and Penn State Hershey and Atlas in our lives.”

They are in the Smith’s family’s lives a lot.

Atlas For The Kids, a special interest Penn State student organization to benefit Four Diamonds, was formed months before Victoria’s diagnosis. They have been inseparable since.

A few Atlas members have an almost weekly dinner at the Smith household for a home-cooked meal. This week, however, they brought wings.

“We had three of them over,” Stephanie Smith said. “They are like an extension of our family.”

They expect some Atlas members — they’re always at Victoria’s side when she does an event — to be at the breakfast.

They hope to see new faces, too.

Rommel said the breakfast, which is raised about $1,500 last year, will feature Candy Land games, arts and crafts, music from Nittany Entertainment, raffles and Four Diamonds goodie bags.

Editor’s note: The location of the breakfast was incorrect in earlier versions of this story.

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 6:13 PM with the headline "State College Mini-Thon to host Saturday breakfast."