Post by Victoria on Nov 5, 2007 11:14:47 GMT -5
Hey boys and girls!
For those of you who were involved last year with Relay for Life, we're doing it again! For those who weren't, we're doing it again!
As a reminder Q&A:
What the blueberries is Relay for Life?
Relay for Life is an all day/night event that benefits the American Cancer Society, a nonprofit organization. It raises money for cancer prevention and awareness, services (like free shuttle services to get people to their treatments), and research. ACS often grants money to researchers who couldn't get government grants. (In fact, ACS has funded now 43 researchers who couldn't get government funding and have now received the Nobel Prize.) The money for Relay for Life goes to all forms of cancer research; it isn't restricted to simply breast, prostate, colon, etc. cancer. Plus, local money stays local, so funds raised in New England go to researchers and programs around here.
Hm, that's pretty cool. But I hate running.
You and me both. Relay for Life started in 1985 with a doctor who ran for 24 hours to raise money to do research on cancer. Now, teams all across the country get together to raise money, and celebrate their success at the relay, which is basically a party. "Relay" refers to the fact that this party happens around a track which people walk/run/skip/hop/cartwheel on for an extended period of time. (The Five College Relay is an 18 hour event.) During this time, the goal is to have at least one person from your team on the track the whole time. When you get tired of being on the track, you can snuggle in the blanket pile, get a henna tattoo, enjoy some food, hang out, play in the bouncy castle, dance to the music, etc. It's a party to celebrate survivors, to remember and honor those who lost the fight, and to fight back against cancer.
Why do you do this, Victoria?
I've known too many people hurt by cancer. When I was four, I remember going in to see my Grandma as she lay dying in the hospital from brain cancer. I was dressed as Tinkerbell complete with a small shaker of "fairy dust" (gold glitter) and I knew Grandma was sick, so I sprinkled her with my fairy dust to make her better. That couldn't save her, and she died a few short months later. Five years later, my Grandmother was so weak from the leukemia poisoning her that she couldn't even sit up. I remember that my birthday wish for that year was simply that Grandmother wouldn't die on my birthday. She lasted a week longer. I relay in their memory and with the hope that my grandchildren never have to see that sort of pain.
How much money do I have to raise?
As much as you can. A good goal to set is $100. (So that's asking 5 of your relatives for $10 and 10 of your friends for $5, for example.) You'd be surprised how many people give you a lot more than you'd expect, though! Last year, our team raised $3,155. I wanna see if we can make $5,000 this year.
When is it?
April 18-19, 2008 (Friday-Saturday) at Amherst College. It goes from 6 pm-noon the following day.
Are you psychotic?! I can't be there for that whole thing!
That's fine! Come for the hour you have free, and leave when you get too cold/tired. It's not supposed to be stressful. It's a block party!
Wait, so how do I do this?
I'm the team captain for Circus Folk Unite! Against Cancer, our circus team. If you wanna join up, just let me know! I will be happy to help you. Or, if you have a great idea for a separate team you wanna make (for example, you'd rather be the Post Modernist Artists: Painting a Cancer Free Future), you can start your own team and be a team captain too! It's not as scary a commitment as it seems. Plus, I happen to be a committee member for the Five College Relay and I'm in charge of Hampshire recruitment so I'd be delighted to help you set up your own team and help you through it.
I'd be thrilled if CFUAC could put together a quick little show for the Relay, but if people just want to roustabout like last year, that'd be great too. (And, since I'm now on the committee, I can make sure that we get a fire permit so if people wanna do a fire show at the event, that'll be ok'd.)
I set up a message board for Hampshire as a whole, so go on it! hampshirerelay.proboards74.com/index.cgiTell your friends! I'm going to be talking to lots of other student groups about this, and I hope to get a lot of people involved, because everyone knows someone with cancer.
For those of you who were involved last year with Relay for Life, we're doing it again! For those who weren't, we're doing it again!
As a reminder Q&A:
What the blueberries is Relay for Life?
Relay for Life is an all day/night event that benefits the American Cancer Society, a nonprofit organization. It raises money for cancer prevention and awareness, services (like free shuttle services to get people to their treatments), and research. ACS often grants money to researchers who couldn't get government grants. (In fact, ACS has funded now 43 researchers who couldn't get government funding and have now received the Nobel Prize.) The money for Relay for Life goes to all forms of cancer research; it isn't restricted to simply breast, prostate, colon, etc. cancer. Plus, local money stays local, so funds raised in New England go to researchers and programs around here.
Hm, that's pretty cool. But I hate running.
You and me both. Relay for Life started in 1985 with a doctor who ran for 24 hours to raise money to do research on cancer. Now, teams all across the country get together to raise money, and celebrate their success at the relay, which is basically a party. "Relay" refers to the fact that this party happens around a track which people walk/run/skip/hop/cartwheel on for an extended period of time. (The Five College Relay is an 18 hour event.) During this time, the goal is to have at least one person from your team on the track the whole time. When you get tired of being on the track, you can snuggle in the blanket pile, get a henna tattoo, enjoy some food, hang out, play in the bouncy castle, dance to the music, etc. It's a party to celebrate survivors, to remember and honor those who lost the fight, and to fight back against cancer.
Why do you do this, Victoria?
I've known too many people hurt by cancer. When I was four, I remember going in to see my Grandma as she lay dying in the hospital from brain cancer. I was dressed as Tinkerbell complete with a small shaker of "fairy dust" (gold glitter) and I knew Grandma was sick, so I sprinkled her with my fairy dust to make her better. That couldn't save her, and she died a few short months later. Five years later, my Grandmother was so weak from the leukemia poisoning her that she couldn't even sit up. I remember that my birthday wish for that year was simply that Grandmother wouldn't die on my birthday. She lasted a week longer. I relay in their memory and with the hope that my grandchildren never have to see that sort of pain.
How much money do I have to raise?
As much as you can. A good goal to set is $100. (So that's asking 5 of your relatives for $10 and 10 of your friends for $5, for example.) You'd be surprised how many people give you a lot more than you'd expect, though! Last year, our team raised $3,155. I wanna see if we can make $5,000 this year.
When is it?
April 18-19, 2008 (Friday-Saturday) at Amherst College. It goes from 6 pm-noon the following day.
Are you psychotic?! I can't be there for that whole thing!
That's fine! Come for the hour you have free, and leave when you get too cold/tired. It's not supposed to be stressful. It's a block party!
Wait, so how do I do this?
I'm the team captain for Circus Folk Unite! Against Cancer, our circus team. If you wanna join up, just let me know! I will be happy to help you. Or, if you have a great idea for a separate team you wanna make (for example, you'd rather be the Post Modernist Artists: Painting a Cancer Free Future), you can start your own team and be a team captain too! It's not as scary a commitment as it seems. Plus, I happen to be a committee member for the Five College Relay and I'm in charge of Hampshire recruitment so I'd be delighted to help you set up your own team and help you through it.
I'd be thrilled if CFUAC could put together a quick little show for the Relay, but if people just want to roustabout like last year, that'd be great too. (And, since I'm now on the committee, I can make sure that we get a fire permit so if people wanna do a fire show at the event, that'll be ok'd.)
I set up a message board for Hampshire as a whole, so go on it! hampshirerelay.proboards74.com/index.cgiTell your friends! I'm going to be talking to lots of other student groups about this, and I hope to get a lot of people involved, because everyone knows someone with cancer.
Looove. 