Over the past 14 years, the sisters of Gamma Phi Beta and the brothers of Acacia have come together to form one of the most unique organizations at Penn State. Our organization, which we affectionately refer to as “GammAcacia”, has become a family of over three hundred men and women who provided support to Four Diamonds Families in their fight against pediatric cancer. Together, over the past seve
n years, Gamma Phi Beta and Acacia have donated over $2,360,000 to the Four Diamonds Fund. To the members of our organization, THON is so much more than a fundraising competition. Our organization stresses the importance of maintaining and enhancing the relationships we have created with our Four Diamond’s families. GammAcacia has been blessed with the opportunity to be paired with four Four Diamonds families, The Jed Smith Family, The Jazmine Cope Family, The Bree Taylor Family, and our newest family members, The Paula Engel-Herbert Family. Sadly, Jed Smith and Jazmine Cope have both lost their battles with pediatric cancer. Although they are no longer with us, their memories live forever in our hearts and remind us every day why we THON. The Smith’s and the Cope’s continue to be a huge part of GammAcacia, and will remain a part of our family forever. Bree Taylor has been cancer free since 2014! She just turned 27 in August, and she currently works in child welfare as a child protective services investigative caseworker! The Paula-Engel Herbert family has become a huge part of our GammAcacia Family. Paula is a eleven-year-old girl from State College, PA who has now been cancer free for 5 years! Paula has a thirteen-year-old sister, Emma, a mother, Mandy, and a father, Roman, who is a science professor at Penn State University! We cannot wait to spend THON 2022 along side all of our families! Together we can make a difference in the life of a child! For The Kids (FTK)
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