Relay for Life raises over $175k

Author: AnnMarie Wesolowski

Last Friday, April 29, over 1,200 people participated in Middlebury College's second annual Relay for Life and collectively raised over $175,000 for the American Cancer Society (ACS). The 18-hour walk-a-thon that honors those touched by cancer by raising research funds for the ACS lasted from 3 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday, which meant that participants spent a cloudy and cold night walking a muddy track around the athletic fields by Alumni Stadium. But with an illuminated HOPE spelled out in the stadium bleachers and dedications to loved ones afflicted with cancer glowing on the luminaria that lined the track, the night was bright with enthusiasm and dedication.

This year's theme was "Books Come Alive," and team names and campsites reflected this as people played upon such books as "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" and "Thomas the Tank Engine," making their tents even look like characters from the books. Each team had a captain and worked through the Relay for Life Web site to raise money for their individual team. The fundraisers' Web sites allowed people to make donations and track the funds raised. Participants' creativity and success in fundraising was recognized and awarded Saturday morning in the closing ceremonies that also featured the a capella group Stuck In the Middle (SIM). One such award went to a group of females from the town of Middlebury called the "Ova-Chicks," who collectively raised the most money -- over $16,000. The award for the most laps went to a young boy who walked roughly 270 laps, which is equivalent to over two marathons.

Co-chair Ross Lieb-Lappman '07 explained the history of the event. "Dr. Gordy Klatt invented the Relay for Life in 1985 in Tacoma, Wash. After he raised $27,000 on his own in that first year, it quickly spread across the country. Today, there are over 4,300 relays." A Relay took place in Lieb-Lappman's hometown when he was in sixth grade, and since then he has been actively involved in the organization of Relays. Last year, he missed participating in the event while at college and realized the potential and possibility in hosting a Relay at Middlebury. Meg Young '07 also expressed interest and the two became co-chairs of Middlebury College's own Relay for Life, the first of which was held last spring.

Planning for this year's Relay started in September 2004 with a larger committee than in last year, with the hope to expand the event. And this year's Relay for Life was certainly bigger and better with added entertainment such as a capella groups like D8 and Bobolinks, and bands and dance performers including Riddim and the GT/VT Breakdancers. The opening ceremony at 6 p.m. on Friday featured Vermont Governor Jim Douglas's remarks and two keynote speakers who spoke about their personal experiences with cancer. There was also a lap of silence followed by a play of bagpipes. The luminaria ceremony at 9 p.m. Friday night, when it had just begun to be dark enough to experience the full effect of the luminaria, included a slideshow that featured names and pictures of those that were affected by cancer. The luminaria shone brightly, projecting the scrawling messages of hope into the night, and the large, illuminated "HOPE" that was spelled out in the stands of Alumni Stadium kept the message of the night alive.



Volunteers and participants, staff and faculty, students and members of the community all took part in Relay for Life. Amelia Claringbould '08 enjoyed participating in the walk and was also impressed with the results. "I thought the organizers Meg and Ross and everybody on the committee did a great job organizing this event. It was a lot of fun," she said.



Dana Weissman '07 explained her motivation for getting involved with the organization of the event. "Last year I participated in Relay on a team and I loved it so much that I wanted to get more involved so this year I decided to be on the committee to help with the food and beverages. I helped with the planning of Taste of Relay and mostly ran errands, set up and got everything organized on the day of the event," she said. "Taste of Relay is really difficult because you're filtering hundreds of people through a small space with minimal amounts of donated food. We do our best to get everyone fed and I think it went well."



"This year was so successful because everyone knew about Relay," said Lieb-Lappman. "Last year I would mention Relay to someone and they would just have a blank face. This year, every single person at Relay had either been at Relay last year, or heard about how awesome it was from a friend. That helped us pull over 1,200 people to Relay (over 800 registered) and raise over $175,000." This year's success was reflected in the amount of attendees, as there was an increase in the number of teams: 76 this spring as opposed to 47 last spring.



Weissman agreed, saying that how impressed she was at how large of an event the Middlebury Relay for Life has become. "Its success is really due to the many people from the College and from the surrounding towns who get so involved and excited about it," she said. "All of the positive word of mouth after last year's Relay definitely helped to bring more people out this time around and hopefully next year the numbers will be even bigger!"



Given the positive and often moving experiences that Relay participants had this year, many will likely be back nex tyear, as Weissman hopes. "I participated in the Relay because it fell over the one year anniversary since finishing treatment for Hodgekin's lymphoma," said Claringbould. "I felt this was a nice way for me to mark with my friends and my family the fact that I have been in remission for one year. The best part for me was the survivor lap, having my caregivers walk with me and my friends cheering me on the sidelines."



Through the work of organizers Young and Lieb-Lappman and the incredible work of the committee and volunteers involved, Relay for Life has become an afternoon, night and day of hope for Middlebury and its community. "It's all about the cause and Middlebury Relay for Life has definitely made a difference, raising almost $200,000 in only two years for the fight against cancer. The event is so powerful because cancer affects so many lives and every individual you speak with at Relay has his or her own story about why he or she is there," said Weissman. "Relay for Life is also great for the community of Middlebury, bringing different people together for one night and one cause."