Washington University’s Relay for Life has already surpassed last year’s total and they haven’t even finished tallying up all of the donations. As of Sunday, the cancer fundraiser had counted $288,668.52, but the money will not be completely totaled until Aug. 31, after local businesses and the chancellor have matched amounts. It is estimated that the total amount raised will increase by $15,000 to $20,000.
Many students have family members and friends who were personally affected by cancer.
“My dad had a rare cancer and that was a big part of my childhood. When I came to college and saw there was Relay for Life, I knew I would be involved,” said Erica Anzalone-Newman, senior and a co-chair of Relay for Life.
This sentiment reflects the spirit of Relay for Life, an event where groups of people walk to commemorate those who have lost their lives to cancer and those who have survived, by raising future funds for the American Cancer Society.
This year’s Relay was held March 3-4 from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. on the Athletic Complex track and attracted the participation of over 50 student groups, which were extremely varied and ranged from a cappella groups to the Annika Rodriguez scholars.
“[Participating in Relay] shows that we are integrated in the community and are integrated with the school. Plus, we are a fun group who likes to do things together that are meaningful,” said Kavya Naini, sophomore and Annika Rodriguez scholar.
While Relay can certainly be a fun event, even in the chilled air of early March, the cause of the event hits close to home for many of the participants. Alex Jeffrey, a junior who attended Relay with Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE), has had four family members affected by cancer.
“My grandfather passed away two months after my brother was born, so he never knew him,” said Jeffrey.
Hoping to be a part of the fight to stop the spread of cancer, Jeffrey has participated in Relay every year that he has been at the University.
“Relay for Life and fighting cancer is really important to my family. I want to raise awareness and get donations for cancer research. It is encouraging that people do care and that we have all of this support,” he said.
With over 2,000 people participating, there was a lot of support. Last year, Washington University’s Relay for Life was the top collegiate Relay in the country, raising $265,000. This is a rank that Chris Riha, junior and co-chair of Relay for Life, hopes to keep when the statistics for all of the universities come out later this year.
“There is always a risk that we will reach a plateau. It is possible that we might not be number one, but this is not a focus. I’m glad to be part of the Wash. U. community no matter what happens,” said Riha.
Christine Ding, sophomore and member of Delta Gamma, thinks that the most important goal of Relay is to increase awareness about the need to raise money for cancer research.
“I think it is important to support survivors and researchers. People don’t realize that organizations don’t get enough funding. It is important that we get out there and help to support the deficit,” she said.
Beyond the number of undergraduate students at Relay, there were also a number of community organizations in attendance, such as the Lift for Life Academy. In addition, there was a large graduate student turnout this year.
“We worked hard to push into new areas and not just undergrads,” said Newman.
Now that this year’s Relay is over, Newman and Riha will take a short break and then start training the new co-chairs and members of the committee in April. There will be a debriefing meeting and a series of transition meetings so that experiences can be shared and Relay can continue to improve.
But for the time being, Riha and Newman are content to be an instrumental part of the inspirational event that is Relay for Life.
“It is exciting and amazing the way that the campus takes on this fight,” said Riha.