Relay For Life, the biggest event at UNH is on Saturday, April 22nd in the Whittemore Center! The event is a fundraiser that raises money for American Cancer Society. The proceeds from the event go to fund patient support programs, prevention, and education outreach, cancer research, treatment funding, as well as other needed services (only a small percentage of the funds are used for fundraising expenses).
The event at UNH lasts for 18 hours from 12 pm on the 22nd to 6 am on the 23rd going overnight because cancer never sleeps. Individuals form teams with friends, dorms, clubs, etc and walk the track throughout the night. Participants are able to register online and many have been fundraising all year as each individual is encouraged to raise $100.
I am a part of the Relay For Life committee at UNH which is a group of students (and our wonderful ACS advisor) who put on the event for the community. Each of us has our own personal reasons to relay but as a whole, we all want to fight back against cancer and create a world with more birthdays. The committee has set the goal of raising 110,000 for the American Cancer Society. As of Friday, April 7th (11:30 am), we have raised $52,323.12 as a whole. The best way to continue reach that goal is to have as many people participate as possible. Therefore to encourage you to sign up a little outline of the event is provided below.
Relay will begin with an opening ceremony at 12 pm. This ceremony welcomes participants and includes a guest speaker. The ceremony serves to honor cancer survivors. These incredible people fought (or are fighting) with so much strength and have won their battle with cancer. They deserve to be celebrated and this ceremony does exactly that. It’s an awesome thing to be a part of and something you definitely don’t want to miss.
The next major ceremony will be the luminaria ceremony commencing at 9 pm on the 22nd. This is a time to honor and grieve those we have lost to cancer. The ceremony will include a guest speaker that shares their reason to relay and how cancer has touched their life. The lights will go out and every participant is given the opportunity to crack a glowstick to show who they relay for. A series of silent laps around the track which is illuminated by luminaria bags each representing a specific loved one will follow to provide participants with time to reflect, grieve and miss their loved ones. The luminaria ceremony is both moving and emotional it’s hard to put into words the kind of impact it has.
The closing ceremony will include the reveal of the final amount of money the event has fundraised altogether. This is an important moment to witness as it is what every single person a the event has contributed to and worked so hard to fundraise for.
Outside of these three ceremonies, the 18 hours are filled with walking as well as fun and entertainment. This year the event will include the NH Notables, Fia-Chiat, Zumba, Off the Clef, a hypnotist as well as games, a movie, and other fun lap themes. It’s also important to bring some cash as there are raffles with tons of different prizes, onsite fundraisers from different teams, and a mini cafe with snacks.
Our committee is so excited for this year’s event and we really want you to be a part of it! The more people participate the more fun the event is and most importantly the more money is raised for the American Cancer Society.
Sign up today to Relay with us http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?fr_id=80995&pg=entry