It was the summer of 2024, and ODI Scholars (MSP) Neil Hariths and Melissa Thomas were struck with a great idea.
“We realized there had never been a BuckeyeThon team for the Morrill Scholars Program,” said Thomas, a second-year health sciences major. “Because MSP prides itself on finding students that are very interested in philanthropy and serving their community, we figured that it would be the perfect place for BuckeyeThon and encouraging future philanthropists.”
The largest student-run philanthropy effort in the state of Ohio, BuckeyeThon was founded at The Ohio State University in 1999 to fundraise for pediatric cancer research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Students compete in teams to raise the most money and attend the program’s signature dance marathon alongside Miracle Kids treated at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, raising over two million dollars in past years.
“Our dance marathon is our end of-year celebration of everything we've accomplished. We have free food for everyone, as well as games, laser tag, silent disco, indoor axe throwing, and gaga ball outside. It's just a blast,” explained Hariths, a second-year neuroscience major with a medical humanities minor. “The Miracle Kids are running around, and you get to hang out with them and hear stories about why our cause is so important. At the end, we hold up our big numbers to see how much money we’ve raised throughout the year, which is always a really magical moment.”
Hariths and Thomas discovered BuckeyeThon as high school students, where they were heavily involved in the Youth Philanthropy program. Both are also leaders on Ohio State’s BuckeyeThon Executive Board: Thomas serves as the Assistant Director of Team Relations, and Hariths is the Engagement Coordinator.
“When I joined, I was just blown away by the energy and contagious nature at the event. It was really positive and uplifting and just something I really wanted to be a part of,” Hariths noted. “When I got to campus, it was something that I really sought out and made an effort to join, and it’s been great.”
As champions of the BuckeyeThon cause, Thomas and Hariths played a key role in developing and leading this year’s brand-new Morrill Scholars Team. Currently, the team has 42 student participants and has collectively raised over $8,500.
Thomas and Hariths are pleased with the progress the team has made in just a few months, although they hope to reach their goal of $14,700 by February 8. They’re also keeping an eye to the future and plan to expand the team to include ODI Scholars from all programs in coming years with assistance from MSP staff.
Although Hariths and Thomas say their work with BuckeyeThon has imparted them with leadership, networking skills, and professionalism, they say the organization’s biggest impact has been on their outlook toward giving back.
“One of our biggest ideas of BuckeyeThon is that every kid deserves a chance to be a kid and a Buckeye,” Hariths commented. “Seeing those kids run around at our events just having the chance to be a kid really struck a chord with me.”
As the 2024-25 fundraising season wraps up, Hariths and Thomas encourage everyone to pay forward through the MSP team donation page and invite students to consider registering as team members for next year.
“BuckeyeThon is a community that you cannot miss out on,” Thomas said. “You meet so many different people, and the cause is so great, especially because you get to see all of our children and what a difference you can make within our community.”