Lindy Reed
Connector Staff
UMass Lowell, as part of Colleges Against Cancer, is set to host its seventh Relay for Life event on April 10, 2015 at the Campus Recreation Center.
The university community got a headstart at signing up for one of the American Cancer Society’s biggest events at the Relay for Life Kick-off at Moloney Hall. Thursday night’s kickoff event allowed students to register for Relay for Life, a 12-hour overnight walk to raise money for cancer research and commemorate those who are fighting or have fought cancer.
The relay is a team event designed to symbolize the familial and communal support cancer patients must receive to fight. The event will start at 6 p.m. and end at 6 a.m., a timeframe chosen specifically to represent the emotional and physical battle endured by cancer patients.
Members do not need to walk for twelve hours straight, but they are encouraged to alternate breaks so that at least one team member remains on the track at all times.
The track of the recreation center will be lined with paper bags containing glow sticks, and each bag will have a message written in marker. Then, immediately before the relay starts, the lights will be shut off and the track will glow, lit by the paper bags and illuminating the messages. This ceremony is called Luminaria, and is a part of the opening ceremony.
The bottom portion of the Rec. Center will be divided into two sections. One section will have team campsites, where teams can set up food and refreshments for themselves. The other section will feature activities such as dodgeball.
The next stage of the opening ceremony is a speech given by a cancer survivor, sharing his or her experience with cancer. The survivors will do a lap around the track alone, then caregivers will join them, followed by student participants.
Around 4 a.m., the fight back ceremony will take place, which features another speaker who will share the story of his or her battle and will provide one last push to motivate the walkers. An energizing fight back activity, such as Zumba, will follow the speaker.
At 6 a.m., the closing ceremony thanks everyone for their involvement and participation. Over the past six years, the Relay for Life at Umass Lowell has raised over $175,000, supported over 90 survivors and included more than 1,600 student participants.
Last year, the Relay for Life sent a bus full of cancer patients and support groups from the Lowell General Hospital to the Rec Center to take part in the survivor lap and a survivor dinner.
The Relay for Life, established in 1985, has raised $5 billion for the American Cancer Society, and has funded cancer research, cancer awareness, advocacy efforts and patient services, including Look Good Feel Better, which provides wigs and make-up to patients, and the Hope Lodge, in which families traveling for cancer treatment receive free overnight accommodations.
UMass Lowell’s newly-formed Colleges Against Cancer Club, formerly the Relay for Life Planning Committee, will participate in similar services. The club’s primary goal is organizing the Relay for Life and has been preparing for the event since September.
The committee conducts fundraisers and plans to participate in the Hope Lodge. Members will also cook dinner for cancer patients and their families.
MaryKate Horan, a senior nursing major, says she encourages all students to sign up and walk. She has participated in every walk since her freshmen year, starting out as a participant but has since joined the planning committee.
“Unfortunately, most people are going to be affected by cancer some point in time,” Horan said, “and we need to do things to help raise awareness and raise funds to help fight cancer with research and the different patient programs that they (American Cancer Society) have.”
There is a $10 per person registration fee, and once a team has registered, each member will receive a Relay Page, an electronic template that can be shared on social networking sites or emailed to friends and family, asking recipients to donate to the cause. Teams can also hold their own fundraisers during the Relay.
UMass Lowell Relay for Life specialist and American Cancer Society employee Bridget Gilroy said she urges students to register.
“Everyone that participates knows that it’s more than an event. It’s an experience,” said Gilroy. “Everyone should join us in the fight because we can’t finish the fight alone.”
