Celebrate. Remember. Fight back.
That is the anthem of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, a life-changing event that brings together more than 3.5 million people all over the world every year. The purpose of every Relay For Life event is to celebrate the lives of survivors who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost to the disease, and fight back to put an end to cancer.
In their inaugural years as co-chairs, Towson University juniors Ashley Blanton and Megan Dasovich are well into the planning process and are optimistic about setting and achieving goals for the 2010 Relay For Life.
Relay For Life at Towson University is the largest fund-raising event on campus. The 2009 Relay For Life raised over $52,000. Blanton and Dasovich hope to raise the amount to $60,000 this year. They also hope to increase participation to 1,000. Last year, 700 people participated in the Towson University Relay For Life, walking or running laps in the Towson Center to spread hope and awareness.
Like many others affiliated with this event, Blanton and Dasovich have both had personal experiences with cancer. Blanton’s father was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer twelve years ago. Since then, he’s fought several different kinds of cancer and won every battle. “I do everything I can to support the cure for cancer so that other people can have people in their lives and celebrate survivors like I can,” says Blanton.
Dasovich participates in Relay For Life to continue the inspiring legacy of her younger brother Mark, who passed away from leukemia at the age of 6. “He was a real inspiration in my life and I do Relay just to carry on his memory,” Dasovich says.
The 2010 Relay For Life, which will start on March 26 at 7 p.m. and end on March 27 at 7 a.m. will include traditions like the Survivor Lap and Luminaria Ceremony. All Relay For Life events start with a Survivor Lap, an inspirational beginning when all of the survivors walk the first lap together in celebration of their personal victories over cancer. Once the survivors completed the first lap, their caregivers are invited to join them in a second lap to recognize the time, love, and support the caregivers have dedicated to those battling cancer.
Another meaningful Relay For Life ritual is the Luminaria Ceremony. Participants light candles in sand-filled paper bags bearing the names of lost loved ones, then walk a silent memorial lap. “We light the candles to remember our loved ones and to remind ourselves why we are here fighting against this horrible disease,” says Dasovich.
Blanton and Dasovich oversee a committee of over twenty students who are assisting with the planning and managing of Relay For Life. Following a Relay For Life tradition, the committee hosted a kickoff event on November 5, 2009, in the University Union.
The event began with a mission moment when David Stahl, one of the 2010 committee members, invited everyone in the room to stand. “Now please sit down if you’ve lost someone or had someone in your life affected by cancer,” Stahl said. Everyone sat down. “The point of this exercise is to show that everyone is affected by cancer, and we need to do something to help eliminate cancer,” said Stahl.
Kira Eyring, Regional Mission Delivery Director for American Cancer Society, was a guest speaker at the kickoff event. “The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service,” Eyring said.
“At Relay, every person in the community can have the opportunity to celebrate, remember, and fight back. Everyone who participates joins others around the world as part of this global movement to end cancer,” said Eyring. The Towson University Relay For Life is open to participants outside of the university community as well as to students, faculty, and staff.
“This is a great event. The whole community comes together and you realize how much cancer impacts everyone,” says Dasovich.
For more information about the history of Relay For Life or how to get involved with the Towson University 2010 Relay For Life as a committee member, volunteer, team captain, or participant, visit www.relayforlife.org/towson.
