Apoorwa Thati ’12 and Rachel Nemerovski ’11 Co-Chair Relay for Life at Emory

Relay For life is a volunteer-driven, overnight fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. It will take place on our very own McDonough Field, beginning tomorrow, April 1, at 7 PM and ending the following morning at 7 AM . This year, the Emory community has raised over $45,000 and plans to have 660 participants on 72 teams registered to attend. The co-chairs for the event, Apoorwa Thati and Rachel Nemerovski, spoke with me about their efforts and about what to expect at the event.

Relay for Life is celebrated in 21 countries around the world. The campaign has raised over $3 billion to date. With this money, the American Cancer Society has contributed to almost every major discovery in cancer research. This research has found better ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer.
 
When I asked why the event takes place from 7 PM to 7 AM, Apoorwa explained, “the light and darkness of the day and night parallel the physical effects, emotion, and mental state of a cancer patient while undergoing treatment. It usually takes place on a school track or field, and the path is lit by luminaria.”
 
Apoorwa ’12 heard about Relay for Life during her freshman year at Emory, and decided to apply to be part of the planning committee for her sophomore year. She enjoyed interacting with the team captains and members, and getting others excited about Relay. “It was pretty gratifying to see how all of our work paid off at the end,” said Apoorwa.
 
Rachel ’11 found out about Relay for Life during her freshman year, as well. Her RA was the entertainment and activities chair, and Rachel assisted her with her duties. As a result, Rachel decided to apply to become the publicity chair in order to gain practical experience with marketing, a field she is interested in. Rachel says she chose to become the event chair this year because, “I wanted this to be my legacy and leave next year’s relay committee with the roots to make this event huge on campus.”
 
Apoorwa and Rachel say their goals for this year were to raise $50,000, create 60 teams, and have 550 participants. They are well on their way to achieving this goal, and it is up to us, the Emory community, to help raise the remaining $5,000.
 
Want to get involved? Attend the event, donate money, and consider applying to be a part of the planning committee next year (applications come out at the beginning of the academic year). The subcommittee teams include publicity, online marketing, sponsorship, survivorship, fundraising, advocacy, luminaria, entertainment and activities, and team recruitment and retention.
 
Apoorwa and Rachel are shining examples of how Emory students can assume leadership positions, gain real-world working experience through campus activities, inspire others to become aware of important causes, and help a charity along the way!