Relay For Life

Overview

The Five College Relay For Life is an event that benefits the American Cancer Society. It offers everyone in the Five College community an opportunity to participate in the fight against cancer. Teams of students, staff and faculty camp out at Pratt Field, Amherst College and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Relay For Life is an overnight event, usually 18 hours in length. The next Five College Relay will be April 23-24, 2010.

Teams of people from all walks of life have fun while raising much-needed funds for cancer research, prevention, services, and education.

The event aims to:

• Celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer. The strength of survivors inspires others to continue to fight. • Remember loved ones lost to the disease. At Relay, people who have walked alongside people battling cancer can grieve and find healing. • Fight Back. We Relay because we have been touched by cancer and desperately want to put an end to the disease.

The event starts with a kick off that celebrates survivors and starts the party atmosphere. After sunset, the luminaria ceremony is a way for everyone to remember and honor those who fought the battle and lost with a silent lap. In the morning, the fight back ceremony encourages and empowers participants to fight back against cancer all year long by staying healthy, using sunscreen, quit smoking, etc.

History

One person can make a difference. Nowhere is that more evident than with the story of the American Cancer Society Relay For Life, which began in Tacoma, Washington. In the mid-1980s, Dr. Gordy Klatt, a Tacoma colorectal surgeon, wanted to enhance the income of his local American Cancer Society office and to show support for all of his patients who had battled cancer. He decided to personally raise money for the fight by doing something he enjoyed – running marathons.

In May 1985, Dr. Klatt spent a grueling 24 hours circling the track at Baker Stadium at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. He ran for more than 83 miles. That first year, nearly 300 of Dr. Klatt's friends, family, and patients watched as he ran and walked the course. Throughout the night, friends donated $25 to run or walk with Dr. Klatt for 30 minutes. His efforts raised $27,000 to fight cancer.

While circling the track those 24 hours, Dr. Klatt thought about how others could take part in his mission to fight cancer. He envisioned a 24-hour team relay event that could raise more money to fight cancer. Over the next few months, he pulled together a small committee to plan the first team relay event, known as the City of Destiny Classic 24-Hour Run Against Cancer.

In 1986, with the help of Pat Flynn – now known as the “Mother of Relay” – 19 teams took part in the first team Relay event on the track at the historic Stadium Bowl and raised $33,000. An indescribable spirit prevailed at the track and in the tents that dotted the infield.

In 2006, first year Victoria Quine got Circus Folk Unite involved in the Five College Relay For Life by being the team captain for Circus Folk Unite Against Cancer! Since then, she has been on the planning committee as Hampshire College's team recruitment and has been getting other groups of students involved as well.

Community

The Five College Relay For Life is extraordinary in that it it attended mostly by the students of the Five Colleges. As a result, the Relay is filled with all sorts of local entertainment, from Amherst and UMass's improv troupes, to Smith's acapella group, and to Hampshire's own bellydancers and circus folk! For the most part, it's like an overnight block party that often features midnight pick up games, trivia contests, a bouncy castle, loud sing-alongs, campfires, food, henna, massages, and of course, music!

Involvement

For those interested in getting involved, Relay For Life can count as your community service requirement for Div II.

You can participate by:


 * Being a team captain and starting a team
 * Joining the planning committee
 * Joining an existing team and encouraging your friends to join too
 * Monetary support (raise money, donate to your friends' teams, throw a few cents into a collection jar)
 * Attend informational meetings on campus
 * Help poster for the event
 * Help at the event as a volunteer (setting up luminaria, doing registration, etc.)
 * Perform at the event

To find out more, contact Victoria Quine at vbq06 or go to www.relayforlife.org/fivecollegema.