Payton Shoenfelt has a passion for helping others. She also has a talent for leadership. Now she has the chance to bring the two together as a member of the Mini-THON Student Leadership Council.

Payton, a junior at Manheim Central High School, applied to be a part of the statewide group of student leaders earlier this summer and was selected to be one of 10 students from across Pennsylvania on the council. To kick-start the role, she joined about 1,000 students and teachers for a leadership summit in Hershey earlier this month, where the group listened to speakers, learned more about mini-THON and gathered ideas for getting the most out of each school's event. Modeled after THON, a student-run philanthropy organization at Penn State University that raises funds to fight childhood cancer through Four Diamonds, Mini-THON offers high school students a way to get involved in the effort. While THON features a 46-hour dance marathon as a signature event, Mini-THON at Manheim Central typically runs all night over a 12-hour period and features dancing, games, activities, food and more.

As a member of the Student Leadership Council, Payton will interact with other high school juniors and seniors who will attend training webinars, create content for Four Diamonds Mini-THON newsletters, mentor other Mini-THON leaders and assist with recruitment to encourage involvement in Mini-THON.

Payton, the daughter of Marc and Jaime Shoenfelt of Manheim, noted that she's been involved in her school's Mini-THON since she was in eighth grade, when she took an assessment to determine potential extracurricular activities to join. "I chose to get involved with Mini-THON because I believe in the mission," she stated. "We get to help people who are suffering with childhood cancer, and we get to meet all sorts of cool people, who are all working toward the same goal, which is ending childhood cancer." Payton quickly took on leadership roles with Mini-THON and helped the group win an award for best use of an online fundraising program the first year she participated.

She's looking forward to serving on the Leadership Council and sharing her enthusiasm for Mini-THON. "We'll be meeting every month or so to talk about what our schools have been doing and to help each other keep students engaged," she said. "I'm really excited about it."