IF YOU GO

What: Relay for Life

Where: Carrier Dome

When: Saturday, 6 p.m.

How much: Free

Francesca Merwin takes part in Relay for Life for her best friend, Joelle. At the start of their senior year of high school, Merwin’s best friend was diagnosed with skin cancer.

Traditions of applying to colleges and prom dress shopping were overshadowed by the absence of her friend, who routinely missed school for treatments. With the support of her family and friends, Joelle went into remission that spring and attended her senior prom and graduation.

Merwin’s first Relay for Life was at her home in Connecticut, where she and her friends fundraised to find a cure that would do more than postpone the cancer their friend struggled with. Merwin continued to show her support throughout her three years at Syracuse University.

“My first Relay was an amazing experience, but the Syracuse one was better,” said Merwin, a junior writing and communication and rhetorical studies major. “It is in the Carrier Dome, the heart of SU, and all of our peers gathering together to fight a cause makes it more special.”

This year’s Relay for Life, themed “Truth and Dare,” will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. and continue until 6 a.m. Sunday. The money raised will be donated to the American Cancer Society and will help pay for research efforts and support programs for patients and survivors.

The Relay for Life committee, the group that organizes the event, has used newer forms of social media and started the planning for the event earlier than usual to raise more money than in previous years, said Megan Woods, a Relay for Life committee member and senior arts and sciences major.

As of Wednesday night, 207 teams signed up to participate in this year’s Relay for Life. So far, $115,000 has been raised, and the committee expects to meet its goal of $200,000 by the end of the event Sunday. Last year’s Relay for Life raised $130,000.

The committee began to meet and plan for the event in October — earlier than in past years — with the hope of turning Relay for Life into a yearlong event that gives teams more time to fundraise, Woods said.

The committee also took advantage of Twitter. It expanded beyond the usual Facebook group and created a Twitter account to reach a wider audience and post small updates about money raised and the number of teams signed up, Woods said.

“This year’s committee came together in a really good way. The students have been so motivated and have raised more money than any to date,” said Betsy Guilfoil, an American Cancer Society special event coordinator who has worked with SU Relay committees for four years.

The committee chose the theme ‘Truth and Dare’ to spread truths about cancer and then dare the SU community to fundraise and sleep in the Dome.

Nearly 1.5 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society, a truth that the committee spread through a news release.

At the event, teams will be able to participate in games like jousting and cardboard box races and hear live performers. In past years, Relay for Life featured numerous local and campus performers like Orange Pulse. This year the event will consist of performers from the Syracuse area as well as a Boston alternative rock band, Lights Out, and a punk-rock band from Binghamton, I Am Brave.

Liza Fishbone, a freshman fashion design major, said she has participated in many breast cancer walks but is excited to participate in an event that addresses all forms of cancer.

 

Published on April 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm