SALSTHON is a conglomeration of many different parts.  S for St. Patrick’s Center, the 2017 beneficiary.  A for ambition, what students had entering the fundraising process.  L for love, the Salesian frame of mind that students were in when they asked for donations not for themselves, but to help others.  S again for spirit, in the encouragement that people offered each other.

T for tenacity, seen in the amount of people repeatedly donating through dress-down days, fundraising tournaments, and donation pages.  H for happiness, abundant in the early hours of March 19th when the final numbers were revealed.  O for objective, the goal of Salesianum, Padua, and Ursuline students to raise $150,000 for a charity chosen by the Student Councils.  N for night, when the party was held; it started at 10 P.M. on Saturday, March 18th and ran until 5:45 A.M. the following Sunday.

SALSTHON 2017 embodied all these traits and more; nothing can come close to describing the drive of Salesianum, Padua and Ursuline students to help different charities year after year.  The St. Patrick’s Center of the east side of Wilmington was the recipient of the 2017 $150k donation.  St. Pat’s helps those who live in what is called a “food desert”– an urban area where it is difficult or impossible to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food.

The Center does more than just serve meals, however.  According to their website, “St. Patrick’s is a source of information and referral for people needing assistance in accessing healthcare, filing taxes, dealing with Social Security, or securing food stamps.”

The Center, with the money raised from SALSTHON, plans to buy the building across the street from their current facility, to make it easier for people coming in to receive food. The way the program is set up now requires walking up three flights of stairs or taking a rickety elevator to get to the food distribution area. With the new building, St. Pat’s volunteers can serve food directly at ground level, making distribution easier for the recipients as well as storing incoming food.

SALSTHON this year included a few memorable items: the climbing wall, obstacle course, and bungee run inflatables were all new, along with the returning dodgeball games in the wrestling room.  Outside in the food tent were small “boat” dishes of Chex Mix or Doritos, complimented by drinks including Gatorade and water at another station.

Concluding morning Mass was held in Centenary Hall, presided over by Father Zumbrum.  Despite how tired they were, between one and two hundred people chose to gather together and celebrate the happy end of another year’s successful SALSTHON.