Relay for Life and CVC Team Up!
As the Coordinator for the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign at UMW, I’m very excited to share that CVC is teaming up with Relay for Life this year. Relay for Life is a wonderful opportunity for UMW students, faculty and staff to come together (along with community members) for a cause that has certainly touched all of us in some way. The funds raised by the UMW Relay for Life count towards the ‘direct giving’ component of CVC and contribute to the overall total for the campaign.
An overnight fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, Relay for Life brings people together to work toward a world with more birthdays and no cancer. Participants walk around a track for 12 hours in a symbolic gesture representing the fact that cancer never sleeps (to learn more about the symbolism behind Relay for Life, click here.) It is called a ‘relay’ because the team can walk in shifts.
In 1985, Dr. Gordy Klatt wanted to combine two things: his love for marathons and his hate of cancer; so he walked for 24 hours around a track in Washington, ultimately raising $27,000 to help the ACS fight cancer. A year later, 340 supporters joined him for the overnight event and it’s been growing ever since. Relay was brought to UMW in 2010 by Luke and Laura Ruth (both UMW Class of 2012.) Luke transferred from Virginia Tech, loved Relay there and wanted to bring the event to UMW. The first year they raised $32,000 and each year since the event has steadily grown.
Relay for Life at UMW is full of entertaining events: every hour a different event is planned to keep participants entertained, including Mr. Relay, a pageant where male students will wear dresses; Relay Idol (which needs faculty/staff judges!); pancake eating contests; and a luminaria ceremony. (General Facebook page for info: https://www.facebook.com/rflumw )
GOALS:
Fundraising goal for this year: $54,000 (currently at $17,000)
Participants: 600 (currently at 240)
Teams: 50 (currently at 40)
Survivors: 30 (currently at 14)
Faculty/Staff: 50 (currently none are signed up to participate)
How you can get involved:
- Join or create a team: Please feel free to join either the CVC team or create your own department or even a family team! There are no limitations for team numbers and anyone from the community (including family and friends) are invited to join Relay. Create a team here.
- Donate to support fellow staff, faculty and/or students: Everyone has been affected by cancer in some way, so even if you cannot come to the event, please help someone else reach their fundraising goal! You can find all of the teams listed here.
- Purchase a luminaria: A luminaria is a way to remember loved ones lost to cancer and honor those battling the disease currently. These are bags that are illuminated with candles after dark at a special ceremony and each bag is personalized with a name, photo, message or even drawing in memory of the loved one. Classic white bags are $10 and gold bags sell for $25 each. The luminaria ceremony is during the event on April 5 and BellACapella will be singing to honor those affected. We invite faculty and staff to come and witness this beautiful candlelit ceremony. We even have a luminaria ceremony next week (see Relay Awareness Week schedule below.)
- Relay also has a “Relay Awareness Week” and we would LOVE to have a lot of faculty/staff involvement! Below is the schedule and accompanying Facebook event:
- Monday, March 17: Paint the Campus Purple Day!
Everyone is encouraged to wear as much purple clothing as possible to encourage awareness. Committee members will be tabling on Ball Circle to collect donations. https://www.facebook.com/events/228544210681766/
- Tuesday, March 18: Mini-Luminaria Ceremony
At 7 p.m. on Lee Hall Terrace, come to celebrate, remember or honor someone who has been affected by cancer. This will be a candlelit ceremony with music from the group BellACapella and a poetry reading. https://www.facebook.com/events/536239293160818/
- Wednesday, March 19: Jail and Bail! From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., come to Lee Hall terrace to see President Hurley, Provost Levin, Marty Morrison and Professor Mackintosh from the Psychology department JAILED for publicly fighting cancer! They each post their bail of $300 in order to escape, so stop by to donate to either help them get out, or keep them in jail! In addition to our jailbirds, Professors Asper and Rettinger have committed “Relay Misdemeanors,” punishable by a pie to the face. We are also looking for more faculty and staff to volunteer for pie-ing, so if anyone is interested, please email Katie Sue at kvanvalk@mail.umw.edu. Pie-ings happen for hour long stints, so we can be flexible to your schedule.
https://www.facebook.com/events/694625453894068/
- Thursday, March 20: Purple Out Concert. Student groups Goody and Save the Arcadian will be preforming on Ball Circle from 4 to 6 p.m.! This will also be a marketplace, so come by to check out the students’ tables; all purchases will benefit Relay. In addition, if you would like to have a table at the market, please contact: kvanvalk@mail.umw.edu. https://www.facebook.com/events/694110663979028/
- Friday, March 21: 3v3vCancer Basketball Tournament
6 to 8 p.m. We are in desperate need of team sign-ups for this event! The tournament will be held in the AuxGym of Goolrick and anyone can make a team; registration is $5 per person. In the past, Dr. Searcy and other faculty/staff members have been on teams and we would love to have more faculty/staff involvement! Anyone interested in sign-ups should send a message to: umwrelayforlife@gmail.com. https://www.facebook.com/events/640125792702641/
Lori Izykowski and Katie Sue Van Valkenburg
