“Imagine a world with more birthdays.” This phrase is said at the opening ceremonies of Relay For Life events every year. More survivors, and more treatments means more birthdays. Relay For Life events are the signature fundraisers for the American Cancer Society. Every year there are more than 5,200 Relays throughout the country. For those who do not know what a Relay for Life event consists of, it is a 12-hour team fundraising event during which different team members take turns walking around a track. The goals are to raise money for cancer research as well as show support for those individuals fighting cancer, or who have lost to cancer in the community. Throughout the night, at least one member from each team must continue walking the track to signify the fact that cancer never sleeps and neither will we. Though this task might seem daunting, it is made easier by the entertainment during the event, such as a DJ, Bounce house, dance performances, acapella performances, bounds, as well as sports demos. This year will be the 4th year St. Lawrence University is hosting its own Relay For Life event. Relay For Life is taking place on November 10th from 6pm-6am in the Newell Fieldhouse, and President Fox is kicking off the event with a welcoming speech. Carnival for a Cure is the theme this year, which means there will be popcorn and snow cones, along with carnival games all night. Instead of having a theme this year, each team will bring their own homemade carnival game, such as ring toss or corn hole.
Relay’s goals include raising $20,000, having 350 participants, 35 teams, and 30 community member participants. I know these numbers might sound high but last year SLU Relay For Life raised over $24,000! To continue the successful finish from last year, this year we hope to build on the amount of community participation in the event. Relay For Life is supposed to be a community wide event, and for the past couple of years the event has had minimal community involvement. To help change this, the Relay For Life Committee has reached out to Canton High School in the hopes that both sports teams, as well as honor societies, make teams and participate in our event. Another difference in this year’s Relay compared to previous ones, is that Claxton Hepburn, the local healthcare provider, will have a table. The health care professionals will be providing preventative information as well as cancer screening information to participants.
If you want to know more about SLU’s Relay For Life, come to the Kick Off Event next Wednesday (9/20) from 7pm-9pm in the Winston Room. Not only will there be a table to sign up for the event, but there will be food, games and team trivia! If you want to participate in the trivia event, find the SLU Relay For Life event on Facebook and use the google doc or email akbuck14@stlawu.edu with your team member’s name! The first, second, and third place winners will receive amazing prizes. Get ready for a one night stand you won’t regret!