Luminaries displaying faces, names and memories will line the paths of Elon University April 24-25 as Elon hosts its third Relay for Life.
The event’s popularity on campus has significantly increased and is aiming to raise $75,000 compared to the $50,041 last year. With more than 13 million people living with cancer in the United States, many students have deep connections to the cause and are eager to participate.
From participants to directors, every person has a different reason and story for participating in the fundraiser for cancer research.
Senior Laura Castro first got involved with Relay for Life in 2013 after seeing many friends lose their parents to cancer. She is currently executive director of Relay for Life at Elon.
“I tried to support them through that struggle and thought it was extremely unfair for someone so young to have to experience that much pain,” Castro said. “We decided that we wanted to make a difference by establishing a Relay for Life at Elon and got to work.”
During the fundraiser, men and women walk 60 miles over the course of three days. After completing the walk, Sykes continued her passion for cancer fundraising.
Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) is a nationwide collaboration of college students, faculty and staff dedicated to eliminating cancer by implementing the programs and mission of the American Cancer Society. Relay for Life is one of CAC’s strategic directions, the others being advocacy, cancer education and survivorship.
“Ten years ago, my world was rocked when I lost my mom to breast cancer,” said senior Eleanor Sykes. “Not long after, I became very involved with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day with my family and friends in order to make a positive impact in such unfortunate circumstances.”
“When Danielle Prongay told me my sophomore year that she was bringing Colleges Against Cancer to campus and it would host Relay for Life, I jumped at the chance to be a part of the fight against cancer again, applied for exec and have been involved ever since,” Sykes said.
Sykes currently holds the survivor relations position. She and other students organize luminaries that are personalized with a name, photo, message or drawing in memory of a friend or loved one who has been affected by cancer.
“A lot of our exec members, committee members and participants have been affected by cancer, which is evident in the amount of luminaries we have dedicated already,” Sykes said.
Each of these luminaries tells a story that connects students to the fight against cancer.
There will be a luminary dedicated to freshman Virginia Townsend’s mother at Relay for Life. As an individual, Townsend has raised the most money for the event.
“My mother was diagnosed with stage-4 colon cancer last October,” Townsend said. “She passed away very quickly on November 2. I want to do everything I can so that no on else has to suffer the pain that my family and I did.”
This will be the first year Townsend is participating in this event, but she wishes she had started participating earlier.
“When it hit home, I knew it was time that I get involved,” she said.
The Luminary Ceremony will take place after sunset. As darkness falls, it represents the immense effect cancer has on participants and the support system surrounding them.
“It is without a doubt my favorite part of Relay for Life because it is so touching and impactful to look around at all the glowing lights and realize you’re not alone in being affected by this disease or in the fight against it,” Sykes said.
The CAC Chapter at Elon has more stories about why others chose to participate in Relay for Life at eloncac.weebly.com/blog.
“Unfortunately, all members of the Elon community can relate to the pain to some degree, but we turned the negative into a positive by uniting the campus to fight back,” Castro said.