Posted on April 7, 2008
This weekend JMU held its annual Relay for Life benefit. The story of the night came from two-time cancer survivor, Christa Robinson, 51, of Sterling, Va.
“Both my father and brother died from the same two types of cancer I had,” Robinson said. Robinson first got cancer when she was 17 and underwent massive amounts of radiation. She had two strokes as a result from the radiation, and the cancer came back. The doctors gave Robinson a six-month window to live.
“I believe 90 percent of surviving is due to the power of God and positive thinking,” Robinson said.
Robinson expressed gratitude to the American Cancer Society for funding costs of wigs, radiation, and transportation to the hospital.
This past weekend, JMU dashed past the $1 million benchmark in total donations raised for Relay For Life since the university began holding the event in 2001.
A record number of students, faculty and community members braved the cold and rain Saturday night. The 1,600 participants collected more than $170,000 for the American Cancer Society’s popular fundraising event. In the past seven years participants have raised more than $980,000.
“We’re stars this year because we’re hitting the million-dollar mark,” said senior Tina Griffin, publicity co-chair. “We’ve only been around for less than a decade and we’ve made a name for ourselves.”
Rain-soaked students walked laps and tossed Frisbees and footballs throughout the night, but the 12-hour event ended abruptly at 5 a.m., two hours before the scheduled time, due to the weather.
Local bands and acapella groups provided entertainment throug
out the night. Games included a buffalo wing-eating contest and a three-legged race tournament.
This year’s theme, “Relaywood: Lights, Camera, Action” resonated throughout the Godwin Field campsite from cutouts of Marilyn Monroe and Austin Powers, to the real stars of the night: the survivors and their caregivers.
“The unsung heroes are the care providers,” said survivor Ramesh Kakar, NASA program manager of weather-related research. Kakar’s hero is his son, Relay For Life executive board member, Amit Kakar. The two have been involved in Relay For Life since Amit was 10 years old.
To kick off the night, the survivors and caregivers walked the “survivor’s lap” around the football field. Students applauded them throughout the walk.
Cheryl Buel had tears in her eyes from the encouragement and support of the students.
The 40-year-old Career and Academic Planning receptionist was diagnosed with breast cancer in July and underwent a double mastectomy. “I’m so proud of the JMU community,” said Buel.
Early in the night, students hugged one another underneath umbrellas and wiped tears from their eyes as luminaria bags were lit in memory of loved ones who died of cancer. The bags spelled the words “JMU Hope” on the bleachers and their glow lit the stadium.
Donations poured in throughout the night. This year, credit card machines were available, allowing people to purchase food from the bake sale and make donations on site.
JMU Dining Services was among the top contributing teams raising $6,358.
“This is probably our best year ever,” said assistant food services director Dana Boontarue. “We pulled a great committee together and held a lot of competitive challenges.”
The Dining Services team sold ribbons and quilt squares in the dining halls to fundraise. The quilt will be displayed in Top Dog.
“Money is still coming in, so there’s a good chance we’ll hit our goal of $201,001,” said registration and accounting co-chair Kathryn McAbee on Sunday afternoon.
