On April 21, students and administration alike will come together for TCNJ’s annual Relay for Life in the Recreation Center. The event, which is hosted by the Colleges Against Cancer club, raises funds for the American Cancer Society.
Amanda Rego, junior Early Childhood Education and Psychology major, is one of TCNJ’s Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) co-presidents. She proudly shares this title with seniors Brianna Dioses and Dana Tedesco.
This year, Rego has set goals for the superhero-themed Relay for Life: she hopes TCNJ raises at least $95,000 and hopes to see more participants coming out to support the cause- especially cancer survivors.
Rego says, “we want survivors to understand that cancer is something faced together, and not individually. These people can also be inspirations to others”.
Rego, who became involved with CAC during her freshman year at TCNJ, says she Relays for her grandmother, who had breast cancer, and for her best friend who lost her battle to cancer when they were in middle school.
While Relay is hosted in the spring and is CAC’s largest event, Rego and her co-presidents work year-round to fundraise and raise awareness for their cause: the fight to end cancer.
In the spring, CAC holds Paint The Campus Purple Week: a week in which Relay for Life is promoted through tabling, dine to donate events, canning and more. In the fall, the club hosts the Great American Smoke Out, a barbecue-style event where students pledge to either quit or not begin smoking, among other events.
The American Cancer Society is able to fund cancer research, provide support to cancer patients and caregivers and implement national programming as a result of CAC –and Relay’s– fundraising success.
Rego says that while she is proud of all of CAC’s efforts, she takes extra pride in knowing that Relay for Life is entirely student ran and serves as the largest collegiate event in New Jersey.
Rego encourages all students to create a [Relay] team and begin fundraising. She says, a simple way to get involved is by “coming out to the event on April 21!”