Relay for Life is a walk for family, friends and people of the community that fundraises money for loved ones who have interacted with cancer. The event is held overnight and members of teams take turns walking shifts. The track for the walk is normally lit with hundreds of luminaria to represent those who are suffering from cancer, have beat cancer, or in remembrance of those who have died from cancer.
Also around the track are fun activities for the whole family such as bobbing for apples, a dunk tank or other activities, perhaps some live entertainment and music, and of course lots and lots of food. This event raises hundreds of thousands of dollars to help battle cancer as cancer has touched the lives of so many people.
Committee member at SMU Relay for Life, Katie Meier, said that SMU started gathering committee members in spring 2013 for this year and added some freshmen on in the fall. Of the committee, members are again divided into specific sections such as missions or communications to name a few. She says that being on the committee takes a lot of teamwork, coordination, responsibility and getting out to spread the word about Relay.
Throughout the school year at SMU’s campus, the committee has had numerous fundraising events. To get the word out, there was free coffee and hot chocolate at the Hughes-Trigg Student Center. With this event, the committee helped reach a number over a thousand people that would be participating in the race. Also for fundraising, local dining places like Digg’s Tacos and Pinkberry frozen yogurt held special days where a certain percentage of their day’s earnings would go to Relay for Life at SMU.
Among other schools, SMU ranks high in the ratings for fundraising with the help of students on campus involved in Greek life, graduate student teams, alum teams, organizations like SMU-in-Taos, Presidential Scholars and SMU Wesley Foundation. People of the Dallas committee will also be huge participants.
As of Sunday, March 30, 2014, SMU Relay has raised $121,945.38.
Relay for Life at SMU will begin at noon on Saturday, April 5, 2014 and ends at midnight. Participants are encouraged to wear comfy clothes with great walking shoes as a lot of walking will be going on. Lots of entertainment will also be going on such as the Southern Gentlemen singers, the Luminaria ceremony, the honorary first lap for survivors and the closing ceremony. Katie said, “sign up and come Saturday to the SMU boulevard to see what else we have up our sle