Brock Kauffman, 20, of Lancaster, was among the dozens of Penn State students to collect money for the THON fundraiser in 2013. Kauffman was stationed along Bristol-Oxford Valley Road in Levittown.
Credit: NewtownPANow.com
Penn State students holding cans to solicit donations on street corners will become a practice of the past.
According to a letter released this week by Penn State THON executive directors Katie Mailey and Austin Sommerer, the method of collecting funds at busy intersections with students holding metal cans for the THON charity event will see major changes this fall and will phased out completely by 2019.
The practice is known as “canning” and those who collect funds are known as “canners.”
“We have worked extensively to maintain canning as a part THON’s fundraising model for multiple years now, but in conversations with Penn State Student Affairs and the Office of University Development, the decision to eliminate canning was a difficult, but necessary decision in the best interest of THON and its volunteers moving forward,” Mailey and Sommerer wrote in their letter.
Starting this year, there will be decreased weekends set aside for canning and students will need to complete online safety course before soliciting donations for THON, which helps childhood cancer victims and funds research. Also, cannners will not be allowed to fund raise at intersections.
Canning has seen less and less donations in recent years as has become controversial due to safety issues.
