Relay For Life Event Raises Over $5,000

Students, faculty and families of the Academy community gathered at Exeter Social Service Organization’s (ESSO) annual Relay For Life Event on Saturday night to raise awareness for cancer. At the event, dorms, clubs and teams alike ran booths to raise funds and awareness for cancer research, and at the traditional Luminaria ceremony, Exonians shared personal stories about how cancer has affected them. By the end of the event, over $5,000 had been gathered.

The Relay for Life Committee planned and worked all winter to prepare for the event, even organizing several lead-up events in order to promote awareness and generate excitement. In the week preceding the event, students performed poetry conveying their experiences with cancer. On the eve of Relay for Life, student committee members woke up early to wrap trees and benches all across campus with purple streamers.

Overall, the Relay for Life Committee members were overwhelmed with the community’s commitment to making the event successful. Not only did hundreds of people attend, but also the campus groups who chose to run booths were wholly invested in supporting the cause. Upper Harrison Wladis, co-head of the Relay for Life Committee, said he could not have hoped for a better event. “Everyone did such an amazing job running their booths,” he said, “and it was truly amazing to see PEA come together as a community to show their support for such an important cause.”

Students rose to the occasion with a creative and entertaining mix of booths. Hoyt Hall offered its annual “Hoyt Heels” booth, where boys and girls could pay to totter around in platform shoes. Amen Hall hosted its annual complex jail, in which students could imprison their friends in exchange for a ticket. The Afro-Latino Exonian Society (ALES) sold Nachos, Bancroft Hall gave massages and senior Tom Appleton, on behalf of the cross country team and Swyft, the campus’ student-run delivery business, ran to McDonald’s to pick up food for his classmates. There were plenty of other booths as well as different clubs and dorms that convened to show their support.

“Relay for Life is not just a cure for cancer; it’s a cure for heartbreak. We are Relaying for Love.”

ESSO Director Elizabeth Reyes commended the colorful booths and expressed excitement at some of the new tables. “Each year is unique as students put their own spin on the event to make it special,” she said.

Wladis said that for him, the most meaningful part of the event was witnessing how many Exonians came out to show their support for cancer research. “I loved that there were long lines at all the booths,” he said. “And we even sold out of all the supplies, food and tickets.”

Reyes added that the success of the event lay in a multitude of achievements: Relay for Life united the Exeter Community while also educating students and employees about cancer and highlighting how the disease touches so many lives. “The event brings together the PEA community in a very non sibi way as we give back to others,” she said, adding that this year’s Relay for Life was “one of the best examples of teamwork I’ve seen in putting this event together.”

http://theexonian.com/2016/04/13/exonian-video-relay-for-life/

Upper and Relay for Life committee member Audrey Hahn agreed. To her, Relay for Life is important not only because it raises money for a charity that touches so many lives but also because it creates a positive and united environment on campus. “I think people lose sight of how much they matter to each other sometimes, just because everyone is so busy,” she said. “But Relay is a chance for us to focus on love.”

After an hour and a half of cacophony and lighthearted fun at the booths, students gathered in the bleachers to observe the more somber Luminaria service. Uppers Alejandro Arango and Audrey Hahn and lower Milena DeGuere each read a personal narrative illustrating the hardships they have experienced due to cancer affecting loved ones. Between these personal stories, seniors Ellie Ward and Marisa Ngebemeneh performed an interpretative dance, depicting the pain and suffering that cancer causes, and PeadQuacs sang an a cappella rendition of  “Seasons of Love.” To conclude the ceremony, a list of the names of loved ones lost to cancer was read aloud; audience members cracked a glow stick when they heard their loved one’s name. By the end, the dark room was illuminated by the light of the glow sticks, a sight that was both beautiful and heart-wrenching to behold, and the audience walked in silence around the rink.

Senior Nada Zohayr, a co-head of the committee, said, “Luminaria will always be the most meaningful part of the event for me.”  She hopes that “other Exonians will be able to remember to think and do things for others” as a result of the moving ceremony.

Wladis agreed, adding that the Luminaria ceremony empahsized the threat that cancer poses to everyday people, and that the quality of the performances made the service touching and impactful.

“All three stories were told so well,” he said. “And the a cappella group sang beautifully, and the dancers did awesome too. Everyone just did an amazing job.”

Upper Bella Thilmany reflected that the event provided an important opportunity for her to learn about the pains her peers have endured. “Luminaria is very emotional for everyone, but it is such an important way to show everyone what Relay for Life is really about by telling both sad and happy stories,” she said.

“I think the Luminaria service stood out most to me this year,” Hahn said, adding that for her, the dance number truly represented how it feels to have lost someone to cancer. “It was beautiful.”

Reyes described another memorable moment in the evening when she looked out and saw faculty children walking in large heels and students cleaning their whipped cream off faces. She heard the “room filled with laughter–all for a good cause,” and noted the importance of having time not only for reflection, but also for fun at the booths.

“Listening to the noises during the carnival and hearing students’ personal stories during the Luminaria service was my highlight,” she said. “The committee did a great job bringing it all together.”

Overall, many students shared Reyes’ views on the event—they were touched by the event’s somber reflection but also uplifted by the strength of the students who spoke and their ability to stay cheerful, fighting cancer with love. In the piece she read at Luminaria, Hahn reflected on losing her mother to cancer and on how Relay for Life has helped her to assuage some of her pain.

“I do not know how my life would be different if my mom were here except that there would be infinitely more love in it,” she said. “The worst part about cancer is that it breaks hearts. As much as my heart has been broken by the loss of my mom and watching my dad and my brother go through the same thing, Relay for Life has been a silver lining that has helped to patch it up just a little bit.”

Hahn paused, and with a small smile concluded, “This carnival is helping to cure cancer, and all we have to do is have fun. Relay for Life is not just a cure for cancer; it’s a cure for heartbreak. We are Relaying for Love.”