Cancer is the second largest cause of death in the United States. The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life is a volunteer run fundraiser for cancer awareness as well as cancer patients. We had a sit down with the co-chairs of Tufts Relay for Life, seniors Julianne Amenta, Kate Carpenito, and Sam Johnson, to find out how the Tufts community has been making an impact through this annual event.
How many years has relay been a part of the Tufts annual calendar?
Relay has been a Tufts event for the past 6 years
When will the relay be happening this year?
This year the relay will be happening on April 15th in Gantcher from 6pm till 6 am.
What made you want to become involved?
Julianne– At my first Relay at Tufts, I was overcome with the feeling of wanting to help to put this event together, so I joined the planning committee for the next one.
Sam– Relay is an amazing event with three powerful ceremonies—opening (celebrating survivors), luminaria (remembering those we lost), and fight back. After experiencing them at my first Relay in high school, I knew I wanted to involve myself with this organization.
Kate– I did Relay when I was in high school, and I joined the planning committee right when I got to Tufts. I enjoy seeing all the groups get together and have fun for a great cause.
What goes into the planning of the event?
There are 9 committees that work on different aspects of the event. We have a publicity committee that works on getting the word out about the event. The spirit committee is in charge of getting out there to get people excited about Relay. The food committee goes out and gets venders for the food at Relay. Team Development is in charge of helping teams fundraise and reach their monetary goals. Entertainment committee is in charge of getting all of the groups. We also have a Survivorship committee who puts together the dinner that we have with area cancer survivors with food from Redbones. Another part of the Relay group is our advocacy group, Colleges Against Cancer; they get the speakers, organize the ceremonies and write the scripts for the event. It’s a large operation.
What exactly happens at the relay?
The way Relay is set up we starts off with an opening ceremony where all of the survivors of cancer take the first lap, called the Survivorship lap while all of the participants stand around the track and cheer them on. That is followed by a Caregiver lap where those who helped them on their road to recovery join the survivors. After those two laps all of the participants join in and the Relay begins.
Are there other things going on in addition to the relay?
We have some of the campus performance groups like La Salsa, giving lessons, gospel choir, SOC, a student band, 2 magicians, TSR fitness classes, and a hypnotists throughout the night. There will also be arcade games, an inflatable course, the underwear relay, tie-dye station and eating contest. There’s a lot in addition to just the relay and it’s a lot of fun.
How many teams are taking part this year?
There are currently 75 teams as of right now and all together that makes 792 people. We are really happy with the growth of the event. Last year there were 650 participants, so it’s a major increase
Do you have a goal for the amount you want to raise?
Our goal is $84,500 we are currently at $55,000 and are hoping to reach 100,000. We are currently $20,000 ahead of where we were at this point last year.
How do you feel the Tufts community has received the event?
The Tufts community has really embraced it this year especially. We have collaborated with Queer Straight Alliance who will be collecting donations at their Drag Down Cancer, drag show, taking place this Saturday. We are also partnered with 5 frats for an event called Party for Life, which will take place next weekend. Tickets will be $10 in the info booth for the parties that will either be on Thursday, Friday or Saturday night, all proceeds going to Relay for Life.
What do you guys do to promote the event and what are you planning on doing as the event draws closer?
We’ve done the traditional postering and tabling, chalking, and Facebook event page. But we’ve also had purple cupcakes in the dinning halls to highlight how the American Cancer Society is promoting more birthdays, flash mobs in the library, an a promotional video (check below). We also plan on painting the campus purple and having an impromptu luminaria ceremony on the President’s Lawn.
How can people get involved in the planning of Relay for Life in the future?
We recruit aggressively at the beginning of the year at the activities fair and work off the list we get. We also have a lot of people who take part in Relay join in the planning after there experience, which we feel is indicative of the success of the event. We can also be reached at tuftsrfl@gmail.com.
**If you are still interested in signing up for the event head over to tuftsrelay.org until Thursday April 14th. Registration is also available at the door till Midnight. There is a minimum of $100 per person to be raised for the cause and a free t-shirt with this years Tufts Relay slogan “ The One Night Stand You’ll Never Regret”. **