Colleges Against Cancer, a group dedicated to fundraising on college campuses for the American Cancer Society, is no exception to the loads of overachieving student organizations on Elon University’s campus. Last year, throughout multiple events, Colleges Against Cancer raised over $70,000. This year, they are hoping to raise even more with a goal of $100,000.
“We are excited to hopefully meet that goal,” said junior Jackie Fronheiser, director of team development. “We are doing really well — better than last year.”
The largest event that Colleges Against Cancer hosts is Relay for Life. Each Relay, whether happening on college campuses or in communities across the country, is sponsored by the American Cancer Society. All of the proceeds go toward cancer research and helping cancer patients live to see more birthdays.
Relay for Life is a 12-hour event held from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. April 22-23 at the Francis Center Field next to the Physical Therapy school, where students, faculty and staff are invited to spend all night raising money with a team of six participants or more. There are car smashes, bakes sales, photo booths and more activities that all act as entertainment for the night, while also contributing to the fundraising efforts.
There will also be other forms of entertainment, like bands, a cappella groups and magicians.
As director of team development, Fronheiser reaches out to teams who have signed up for Relay for Life and ensures they are consistently fundraising for the event. She also makes sure each team member is informed of what Relay for Life will entail and how they can make it the best experience for the group.
“One tip that we tell people is to bring chapstick,” Fronheiser said. “A lot of members from the executive committee who have been doing this for a few years say that is the one way to make the night run a bit smoother.”
As the night goes on, the air gets colder and many students may not be used to staying awake for 24 hours and being outside that long.
Colleges Against Cancer created “Paint the Campus Purple,” where local businesses participated in profit shares or hosted trivia events whose proceeds went to benefit Relay for Life. If students missed “Paint the Campus Purple” week but they still want to participate in Relay for Life, they can still register online.
Senior Rachel Fenimore’s favorite part of Relay for Life is the Luminaries Ceremony.
“Every participant receives a glow stick and lines up in a huge circle around the field. We turn off all the lights at the Francis Center and typically have a survivor come share his or her story with us,” Fenimore said. “Then, one by one, we begin to crack the glow sticks depending on how each of us personally has been affected by cancer.
“Every single year I get chills watching the glow sticks break, and it’s such an unbelievable culmination to a year of hard work with the most amazingly dedicated group of individuals.”
For many of the participants, Relay for Life is a special experience because they have a personal connection to someone who has cancer, has survived cancer or has passed away from cancer. The executive committee created a blog about why each of the members continue to participate year after year in Relay.