Relay for Life at Grand Valley

Teams of Grand Valley students will gather on the football practice field near Lubbers Stadium on Saturday April 13 and Sunday, April 14 for a 12-hour relay against cancer. Relay for Life is a family and friend-oriented team event where participants can walk or run relay-style around the track and take part in fun activities off the track. In past relays in other locations, teams have included co-workers, club members, families, and friends who have gathered donations prior to the event.

This is the first Relay for Life on the Grand Valley campus and organized entirely by Grand Valley students. At least 30 teams of Grand Valley students and associates have registered, guaranteeing an event of at least 300 attendees representing numerous clubs, organizations, and groups of friends. Bands will play, a dance is scheduled for the participants, and Saturday evening will be highlighted by a luminary ceremony.

A Relay for Life is a unique opportunity for our students, staff, and community to come together in the fight against cancer, said Kenny Riley, chairman of the event and president of the American Cancer Society Club on campus. Some participants are cancer survivors, which serves as a reminder that our community is not immune to this disease and that we can actually help our friends, families, and students that have been touched by cancer.

The luminary ceremony, which will take place after sundown, honors the community's cancer survivors and survivors close to the Grand Valley students. Survivors will circle the track rimmed with glowing luminaries while the names of survivors and those lost to the disease are read aloud. Luminaries will be purchased as donations prior to the event.

Funds raised by Relay for Life will enable the American Cancer Society to support local services for cancer patients and their families such as Reach to Recovery, a peer-to-peer support program for women with breast cancer and I Can Hope, a series of classes to educate those touched by cancer. Funds have also supported critical cancer research and community education programs designed to teach people how to reduce their risk of developing cancer.

Relay for Life events will be held in more than 182 locations throughout Michigan and Indiana this year, raising more than $15 million for the American Cancer Society. The American Cancer Society is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives from cancer, and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy, and service. For more general information, visit www.cancer.org or www.relayforlife.org.