Relay for Life kicks off tonight
April 8, 2016
The 6th annual Relay for Life is tonight at Monroe stadium, where teams have been raising money for the past month to help save the lives of cancer patients all over the nation. Last year Relay for Life raised over $35,000 and they have raised over $14,000 for this year so far.
We started Relay for Life to make a difference. The kids do so much and it is a sense of awe that I get when we do something that is so big and makes such a difference. — Relay for Life coordinator Kirsten Mulligan said.
There are a total of 23 teams sponsored by organizations including PALS, Finding a Cure, Viper Swim and Dive, Miracles by the Mile and Ready to Relay. The three teams who have raised the most money are Finding a Cure, Team Howard and Viper Swim and Dive.
“It is a great cause,” Viper Swim and Dive team member Zach Bezella said. “I am very proud of the fact that we have contributed so much to finding a cure for cancer.”
Several ceremonies are added into Relay for Life to promote survivors and those currently fighting cancer, such as the Lumenaria and Survivor. The Lumenaria show contains lit up lanterns that are placed all around the stadium to provide light to the darkness, which represents what seems to be a hopeless place when one fights cancer. There is also the Survivor ceremony that opens the event with the largest audience, giving people a chance to become aware of what Relay for Life is about.
“The luminary ceremony is my favorite,” Mulligan said. “The students are so respectful during the silence of the ceremony.”
Relay ends at 2 a.m. with a ceremony to close the event and let everyone go with the thoughts of survivors and people currently fighting cancer, hoping to find a cure for a disease that can ultimately take a life.
To donate, go to the Relay for Life web page and click the donate button on the top right of the page.
