Relay for Life raises more than $67,000 for American Cancer Society
Clarkston junior Kara Weightman shaves the head of Milford junior Mitchell Talaki as a part of Sigma Alpha Epsilon's fundraiser during Relay for Life April 26, 2015 in the Indoor Athletic Complex.
Those touched by cancer gained the feeling of solidarity Saturday at Relay for Life, organized by Colleges Against Cancer.
The event began at 11 a.m. with an opening ceremony and concluded Sunday morning.
More than $67,000 of donated money has been counted by the time of publication. The money is still being counted as the 2015 relay season collects online until September.
Raising money for Relay for Life is a year-long process. While the full event day is important for fundraising, students have been holding events to raise money since last year's relay.
“It’s important for events like this to be held on college campuses because it really brings actual issues to life,” said Troy senior Liliana Cujar. “To donate the time and energy to work towards something like this brings something tangible and important to college campuses and makes us think.”
Ann Arbor senior Tess Jackson said she felt inspired seeing so many people care enough to donate time and effort to the event. People who stopped in for a short amount of time helped the cause because small amounts of money contribute toward helping research and finding treatments.
“I think it’s important because cancer is such a sad and serious thing,” Jackson said. “It brings people together and gives people hope for the future and that we will be the generation that sees the end of cancer. It’s a time to remember, but it’s also a time to fight back.”
The event was reduced to 15 hours instead of the previous 24 hours in hopes of increasing attendance at the the closing ceremony.
CMU was one of five colleges that still held Relay for Life for 24 hours. Because most colleges have cut down the number of hours the event runs, the university has one of the longest participation times.
“We actually have a lot of student survivors on campus and a lot of people don’t realize that. We’re showing people that this isn’t just something that affects either younger kids or older people, but also people our age,” said Grand Rapids senior Becca Hillyard. “It also gives us a sense of solidarity that it’s almost impossible to find someone on campus that hasn't been affected by cancer in some way.”
About 80 booths were set up at the event. Each booth was a fundraising team that was either an RSO or a group of participating friends. The booths offered various activities or foods ranging from back massages to deep fried Oreos.
The 15 hours had 21 events including: a photo scavenger hunt, cardio kickboxing, line dances, lip sync battles and a luminaria bag event.
“I think everyone gets something different out of Relay for Life. Everyone has a different favorite part,” said president and co-chair of Relay for Life and Southgate senior Lacey Johnson. “Everyone has been affected by cancer in some way and I get that out of this. I’m not alone, no matter where my journey is at that point.”
