Posted on April 19, 2007
Saturday night, JMU will host Relay for Life, an annual nationwide program that raises money to support the fight against cancer.
“Relay [for Life] provides support for research through the American Cancer Society,” said senior Beth Branch, one of the coordinators of this year’s event. “They try to battle cancer through research while still providing services for people already fighting the disease.”
Relay for Life began in 1985 in Tacoma, Washington. Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the occasion is designed to not only fundraise for cancer research, but to educate people about the disease and celebrate those who have survived it.
Before the actual relay, set for Saturday and Sunday at Bridgeforth Stadium and Godwin Field, participants form teams and fundraise individually and as teams before coming together to take part in the relay. Teams are encouraged to have at least one person walking on the track all night.
“The night of Relay [for Life] is to try and celebrate life as a way to thank teams for all that they’ve done,” said Branch. “It’s really fun time for all those who are there while we honor those still fighting, remember those who have passed away and offer activities so they can have fun and relax.”
JMU has a history of successful Relay for Life fundraising and has twice been recognized as the number one per capita fundraiser within their college - size division.
“Basically, they take how much we fundraise and divide it by how many students we have participating,” said Branch. “Hopefully this year we’ll make it again, because we’re consistently one of the strongest [colleges], within top ten in the college division for total fundraising.”
Currently, Relay for Life at JMU has raised $120,281, a number that is expected to grow over the next two weeks.
Junior Stephanie Torcivia has personally raised $3,580 as part of her Chemstuds team, which has raised a still-growing total of $6,706.09.
Like many other participants, Torcivia was motivated by personal tragedy. Torcivia lost her mother at the age of 9, and because of this experience she has always been inspired to educate others and raise money for research.
“I grew up around cancer and my family was always open about it,” Torcivia said. “My parents were always in the hospital, and I want to participate in Relay [for Life] so that not all kids have to go through what I did.”
The actual event will kick off at 7 p.m. with a lap made cancer survivors.
“Everyone else lines the track and claps in honor of everybody walking,” Branch said. “It becomes such a great support mechanism.”
This year, attendees can expect a wide variety of entertainment and activities including speakers, bands, group fitness classes, a rock climbing wall and friendly team competitions.
One of the highlights of the event is the lighting of lumanarias, a tradition to remember those afflicted by the disease.
“We have team members decorate sand filled bags with candles inside in honor of those fighting or in memory of those who have passed away,” said Branch. “It’s a moving ceremony where we have a speaker to talk about her story of dealing with cancer in her life.”
