FUN STUFF

Relay For Life

By Rachel, age 26, Connecticut

It's September, and it's that time of year again. What time of year am I referring to? Fall? Well, yes, but I am also referring to the month when my youth group participates in our largest event of the year, Relay For Life.

What is Relay For Life, you ask? Relay For Life is one of the largest events put on by the American Cancer Society, where whole communities come together. How does it all work? The purpose of Relay is to gain donors to sponsor you or your team for each lap that you walk, or every 5, 10, or 20 laps, etc. The goals are to raise money for cancer research and awareness about the disease.

One month out of the year those who live in town either sign up as individuals or find friends and family members and they become a team. All the teams and individuals meet in a central location in town, usually a baseball, soccer, or track field. Each team or individual is given an area around the track where they can set up chairs and tents and tables if they are selling food or hosting an activity during Relay.

My youth group does a sand art table. As the relay participants walk around the track, for every lap they complete, they fill their sand art container with sand to mark that lap.

Relay runs for two days. This year the Relay for Life in my town runs from Saturday, September 17th at 12 noon to Sunday September 18th at 9:00 a.m. Like last year, my youth group intends to walk from 12 noon straight through the night until breakfast at 8:00 a.m. the next morning. We bring tents and set them up in case there are those team members who wish to go to sleep.

During Relay there are tributes to those we have lost to cancer. If you wish, you may buy what is called a luminaria, which is a white paper bag on which you can write the name of the person or people you have lost. Every year I buy five bags, one for each of my grandfathers, one for my Grandpa Gil (who was a grandfather figure to me from birth until I lost him when I was 20), my Great Aunt Mary, and my great grandmother, all of whom passed away between 2002 and 2006 as a result of cancer. We have one lap which we dedicate to the loved ones who are still battling or have survived cancer. I walk that lap for a family friend whom I have been close with all of my life, Mitzi, for a family friend who has also been a good friend to me, Carla, and for my best guy friend in the entire world without whom I would lost, my buddy Carl.

Throughout the night there are written tributes, as well as songs, and a candlelight lap in which we walk silently and read all of the luminaria bags with the names of those we have lost. Then there are the fun laps, such as crazy hat lap and pajama lap, and my favorite, teddy bear lap.

During Relay, food is shared and there is music playing. It's a time to enjoy being with friends, relatives, and people from the community. Relay For Life is a two day event in which we share our stories, share our loved ones, share memories, and most importantly, build new memories. We declare that we will not allow cancer to win and we stand as allies or as survivors in the fight against cancer.

In my opinion, Relay For Life is one of the most powerful and inspiring events I have ever experienced. This will be the third year in a row I will attend. The memories of past Relays bring up memories, tears, and smiles, but most of all pride that I live in a town in which everyone turns out and stands up against cancer. I cannot wait for September 17th to roll around to build new memories with my friends, church friends, community members, and those who have come from out of town. I look forward to all that Relay For Life means for me and for so many others.



What did you think about this article? Tell us!


First Name:
Age:
Email or MySpace:
Subject:
Message:



Sweet Advice
Staff
Downloads
Reader Feedback
Alerts

February & March Magazine Issues

March 15, 2012

The February and March issues of Sweet Designs Magazine are now online, featuring a combined 53 new articles and features!!

- Cover: Stephanie Lynn reflects on 5 years
- Cover: India (of Darn-licious knitwear)
- Life in the dumps (moving in with my bf)
- The difference between men and women
- Angels among us (parts 1 and 2)
- Arts graduates & the dark night of the soul
- Triple threat (how I survived my teen yrs)
- Dating isn't easy (my true story)
- How to turn not-so-great gifts ... (fashion)
- Ten reasons to love being single
- Taking the big leap (college)
- Valentine's Day (not what you'd expect!)
- The last of the cold (hopefully) (fashion)
- A month full of love
- Ten tips for successful airline travel
- Reasons I love writing for SDM
- Who needs love?
- They're not all the same
- The life I'm glad I don't have (fiction)
- Professional dress/ finding Fendi (fashion)
- An airport anniversary: a true story
- Inappropriate Facebook photos
- The perks of a big city (college)
- A night(mare) to forget (part 2)
- The Anita Blake series (book review)
- Saving June by Hannah Harrington (book)
- Under the Mesquite by GG McCall (book)
- The Lullaby by Sarah Dessen (book)
- If I Stay by Gayle Foreman (book review)
- My sweetheart (original poetry)
- Isn't it funny (original poetry)
- The stranger (original poetry)
- A winter wonderland (original poetry)
- One night valentine
- The thick envelopes (college acceptance)
- Southern love
- Healthy hair and vitamins
- It's a date (dating idea alternatives)
- The 30 hour famine
- School's out forever!
- Marching right back into spring? (fashion)
- Dear John
- When TV shows depict your life
- 3 Fun ways to rock spring's hottest trends
- Neglected teeth
- Starting something new
- Guy movies
- To hesitate or dive in?
- Deadly, by Julie Chibbaro (book review)
- Beastly, by Alex Flinn (book review)
- I don't care (poetry)
- Together, alone (poetry)

Sweet Designs Magazine
The Magazine You Can Write For
The Voice of a New Generation

Search

Your Ad Here