By LAUREN KLOSE
Staff Writer
One of the biggest events on campus at The College of Saint Rose has always been the annual Relay for Life. Students walk around the campus lawn from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. to raise money to help find the cure for cancer.
Two years ago though, the event almost didn’t happen after a change in who organizes and runs the event occurred. Student rallied together in order to save Relay for Life, thus having it become a student run event.
This year Relay for Life will sport a Happy Birthday theme in honor of celebrating more birthdays. As of now the event has 29 teams with 269 participants who have raised almost $15,000, making them halfway to their goal of $30,000.
Two weeks ago, Colleges Against Cancer, the club that plans and runs Relay for Life, held Bank Night. National American Cancer Society requires there to be security to be present to ensure that nothing goes wrong at the event. This is where participants and their teams bring in any offline donations they have collected so far.
“We raised over $1,300 total at Bank Night and for Penny Wars specifically, we raised over $315,” said Samantha Brewer, one of the co-chairs for College’s Against Cancer.
The results for Penny Wars were also determined. A Penny war is an event where students put any loose change in jars or buckets found in their dorms. The idea is to collect as many pennies, positive points, as possible and put silver coins, negative points, in the jars of the opposing side. Brubacher Hall beat Lima Hall for the freshman and the Upperclassmen dorms beat the Transfer dorms. This helps students find out what Relay for Life is and is a fun way to introduce positive competition within the dorms.
Raffles of Relay for Life gear were done and people also had the ability to register for the event. Currently registration has been moved up to $20 a person from now until the day of the event.
Luminare bags are also being sold for $5, which can be decorated in honor or support of someone.
Relay for Life will take place this coming Friday and Saturday, April 26th to April 27th. The event will start with a Survivor and Caregiver Reception at 5:30 p.m., where the survivors and caregivers will register and gather in the Sanctuary before Relay For Life begins. The first lap will begin at 6:30 p.m., which is the Survivor lap and ceremony. Survivors can be represented virtually and do not actually have to be present at the event to be honored.
College’s Against Cancer has thrown around multiple ideas for themed laps such as a Backwards lap, Blindfolded lap, Dancing lap, Silent lap and Birthday lap. Activities such as three legged and wheelbarrow races are some other ideas thought up by the club.
