Yale Colleges Against Cancer Invites Survivors to Relay for Life
For Immediate Release
Date: 2/7/05
Contact: Renee Gaudette (203) 785-2143
Four Yale University students, each directly affected by cancer in different ways, united to create a local chapter of Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) last summer with the help of the American Cancer Society. A national network of campus clubs, CAC helps bring cancer education and awareness activities to college campuses, while allowing each chapter to lead independent, student-driven programs. Student organizers are focusing on a Relay for Life event at the Yale University Track on April 9th.
“We have had an amazing response from the Yale student body. Because cancer is such a widespread health problem, most people we talk to have been personally touched in some way and are therefore eager to join our efforts,” CAC President and Yale University Sophomore, Stephanie Smith said.
Smith is joined by Caroline Edsall, Marcus Haymon, and Simbarashe Marekera, Relay for Life Tri-Chairs. Relay for Life is an 18-hour event to celebrate survivorship, remember those who lost their lives to cancer, and to raise money for the fight against cancer. Participants form teams and solicit sponsors; they then take turns walking around the track throughout the 18-hour Relay.
“Relay for Life of Yale University represents the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be supported, and that one day, cancer will be eliminated,” the Yale CAC statement reads.
CAC has 40 students working on various sub-committees to plan the event and has already registered 36 teams for the Relay. The event will begin at 4:00 PM on Saturday, April 9th with a survivor lap, which will lead into a reception and sit-down dinner for cancer survivors, and will continue until 10:00 on Sunday morning. At 9:00 on Saturday night, a Luminaria Ceremony will be held in remembrance of those lost to cancer and to give strength and hope to survivors. Live music and entertainment is planned throughout the event.
CAC continues to register teams for the Relay and welcomes the public to participate in the event. “We hope to reach out to cancer survivors in the New Haven area, and we would like to invite them to join us for the celebratory lap around the track at 4:00, the reception, and a group dinner,” Smith said.
For more information on the Relay for Life of Yale University, please contact Smith at Stephanie.Smith@yale.edu; or David Hirx, an American Cancer Society staff partner, at 203.379.4886; or visit www.acsevents.org/relay/CTyale