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American Cancer Society

How Relay For Life Proves that Cancer isn’t Stronger than the Strength of Our Community

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The Relay For Life event, first created by The American Cancer Society in 1985, has evolved into the world’s largest volunteer fundraiser. The American Cancer Society supports fundraisers and donates all money raised to cancer patients and their caregivers, thereby assisting patients facing the heavy financial burden of treatment. Every year, hundreds of people gather at the Horace Greeley High School field to support the Relay For Life Fundraising event run by students and teacher organizers.

This year, on May 18, Horace Greeley will again host the Relay for Life event and will welcome students and local residents to a lively atmosphere with food trucks, live music, all-night activities, and carnival themed booths created by the Chappaqua high school students. Who wouldn’t want to attend? Local food trucks such as Kona Ice and Three Little Pigs Barbeque will be on hand to provide delicious food that attendees can purchase. Part of their revenue is donated to the cause.

A Light that Brings Hope

The highlight of the Relay For Life event is the Luminaria ceremony where glowing paper bags circle the track and spell out “HOPE” on the bleachers. This seemingly simple act holds a symbolic meaning for the family and friends of individuals who lost their battle to this horrible disease. When participants walk around the track, they share a vision of a world where cancer no longer threatens their loved ones. Luminaria bags are available to purchase for $10 allowing you to make a donation and have a meaningful impact on the event.

During a recent interview with Sarah Payes, one of the event co-chairs, stated that “Each year I get chills when the field lights go out and the purple glow sticks start to brighten.”

The event’s main stars are the survivors, honored each year by walking a lap around the track with their loved ones while the crowd cheers in support. Additionally, the Relay For Life Sponsors go the extra mile to try to make cancer survivors have an extra special night. Food and other goodies are catered for the survivors.

Survivors Share Stories

Many of the survivors choose to speak to share their cancer journey and story. On this night, the saying cancer never sleeps rings true as events and activities are held until sunrise. Its many poignant moments symbolize resilience and unity.

Seniors Olivia Bialek and Sarah Payes, co-chairs for the Relay For Life Club, raised an impressive $53,000 last year and are aiming for $65,000 this year. “This year we decided to raise our goal over $10,000 dollars more because we know our community can do it! Every club member is more invested than ever before and we are sure that our community will step up as well.” said Bialek. Both Payes and Bialek stressed the importance of turnout to the event. “The higher the attendance the more likely our goal will be achieved,” said Payes.

Both Olivia and Sarah have been involved with the club since their freshman year of high school. Their participation is rooted in personally experiencing the loss of loved ones to cancer. “I knew I wanted to join the relay when my grandma passed away from lung cancer when I was 10.” Bialek explained. “My sisters had belonged in the club, and I was eager to make a difference, but I was too young to make my mark. When it was my turn to be a Greeley student, I jumped at the first opportunity I saw to help with a cause that was so dear to me.”

Sarah Payes (left) and Olivia Bialek, co-chairs

“A Chance to Step Up and Fight”

Similarly, Sarah lost her grandmother and uncle to cancer but that just enforced her eagerness and determination to volunteer for this cause. “As someone who has been affected by the loss of loved ones due to cancer, making the decision to join Relay For Life was easy. My grandmother passed away from cancer a few years ago and my great uncle passed away last December after a long battle with cancer. Relay has given me a chance to step up and fight for my loved ones, along with the millions of people who have been affected by this disease. I want to do all I can towards cancer prevention and to help support people who are currently battling, and their families.”

For those eager to contribute to the event, there are many ways to make an impact. If you can’t attend the event, donations and volunteering may be explored by contacting livbialek@gmail.com; anyone may run their own carnival-themed booth at the event.

In the months leading up to the event, the local high school chapter hopes to raise over $10,000 dollars and works tirelessly to ensure that the event is a success. To the club members, this event is the highlight of their year.

“To me, Relay For Life is more than a fundraiser, a one night event, or an extracurricular activity, it is a community. Club members quickly became close friends which is incredibly special to me,” said Payes. “I’ve met so many great people through Relay that I may not have gotten a chance to know otherwise.

“Our club is a naturally supportive group of people that show up because they care about the cause and want to do something meaningful. We all take turns inspiring each other with our ideas, hard work, and commitment.”

As the event unfolds on the Greeley campus, people of all ages demonstrate their reliance towards this terrible disease, affirming that we will prevail against cancer. The horrifying fact that 10 million people die from cancer each year provides urgency in finding a cure while honoring those tragically lost in the Chappaqua community.

Relay Reflections…

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… and Hope Following the 10th Annual Relay for Life of Chappaqua     

Article and Photo by Gillian Hand

On May 20th, the field in front of Bell Middle School was transformed. Tents and tables sprung up across the property as Greeley students prepared to spend the night at one of the most anticipated fundraising events of the year: the 10th Annual Relay for Life of Chappaqua. All night long, these participants would walk in support of cancer patients, raising money for research and fostering hope for a world without cancer.

The dedication to finding a cure runs strong in this American Cancer Society event, bringing communities together across the globe and right here in Chappaqua. Although no words can do it justice, this Relay for Life slogan is a true testament to the nature and goals of this inspiring event: “Celebrate. Remember. Fight back.”

2017 marked the tenth year of Chappaqua’s participation in Relay for Life. For one decade, students at Horace Greeley High School have come together to raise money for cancer research and have walked the track throughout the night in support of all those who have been touched by cancer. This year, the reconstruction of the Greeley track and field facilities prompted the event’s move to downtown Chappaqua.

While this would mark the first year that the fundraiser would be held anywhere but the Greeley property, the new location of Bell Middle School enhanced community involvement and inspired increased participation of local merchants and residents. Although the Bell facilities do not include a track, committee members from the Greeley club worked throughout the day to prepare the grounds for the fundraiser and mimic the setup of past years. While it was certainly a change from the previous events held at Greeley, the Chappaqua administration partnered with the Relay for Life of Chappaqua executive board to help ease the transition and make the event the great success it has been in the past.

I served on the Relay planning committee and executive board throughout my four years at Greeley. Behind the scenes, this dedicated Greeley club prepares for the event throughout the year, organizes the setup and cleanup of the event grounds, and works tirelessly to ensure that the night runs smoothly. It has been an honor to not only take part in such an inspiring and worthy event, but to also lend a personal hand in the successful planning and execution of the fundraiser. Each year, I have been privileged to watch the event grow and develop at every stage, present for everything from the early months of planning to the sun rising over the field after a night of walking.

Relay for Life is extraordinary. By rallying behind friends or family members touched by the disease or simply staying the night despite heavy rain or cold temperatures, these students prove themselves year after year as true supporters of the cause. It is incredible to see students, families, Greeley faculty members, and other Chappaqua residents coming together in hope and support; Relay for Life of Chappaqua has shown me how successful we can be when we unite behind a common goal. Nearly everyone has been touched by cancer in some way, and with an event like Relay, the entire community can work together to foster change and progress in cancer research. While I am looking forward to continuing my participation in college, I am excited to watch Relay for Life of Chappaqua continue to grow and succeed. 

At the time of the writing of this article, the 2017 Relay for Life of Chappaqua had raised over $170,000 for the American Cancer Society, and this number will only go up. Relay for Life is something that both Greeley and Chappaqua as a whole can be proud of.

To donate to Relay for Life of Chappaqua, visit http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY17EA?pg=entry&fr_id=79440.

 

Inside Press Intern Gillian Hand is a senior at Greeley.

Ready, Set, RELAY

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Planning Committee members Gillian Hand (L) and Vivian Kaiser at the 2014 Relay
Planning Committee members Gillian Hand (L) and
Vivian Kaiser at the 2014 Relay

Behind the Scenes of the 
Ultimate Community Fundraising Event

By Debra Hand

Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back.

On June 6th, hundreds upon hundreds of Chappaqua residents of all ages will descend upon the Horace Greeley High School track to take part in what is likely the largest–and perhaps the most moving–community event in town every year: the American Cancer Society’s (“ACS”) Relay for Life.

The Chappaqua Event Has Been
 Growing since 2008

Relay events span the globe, with team members taking turns walking all night to raise funds for cancer research. Food, games, activities and music build camaraderie and make every Relay the ultimate community event for a common cause. According to the ACS website, “each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event…because cancer never sleeps.”

The first Chappaqua Relay for Life was held in 2008, when three students who had participated in Fox Lane High School’s Relay to honor a stricken friend asked Greeley English teacher Amy Kaiser to be the faculty advisor for a HGHS club and event. That first year, the Chappaqua Relay drew 30 teams, over 300 participants, and raised over $70,000, surpassing its modest $30,000 goal.

The Greeley Relay, traditionally held the first weekend in June, has since grown exponentially, both in number of participants and funds raised. Last year, the event brought in approximately $160,000; the total raised in only seven years amounts to over $1,025,000, making the Chappaqua event one of the top Relays in the country every year since 2011, when it won the Number One Youth Award. With over 80 teams and close to 600 participants, from 8th graders through adults, the 2015 event will certainly reach its $170,000 goal.

Behind the Scenes: 
Months of Planning

No event of this magnitude happens without a good deal of organization. Shortly after the ACS October “Making Strides” Walk Against Breast Cancer, an ACS staff partner meets with Greeley organizers to set guidelines and a schedule. After a January kickoff ceremony, the school club, this year chaired by Greeley students Emma Meyer, Micaela Silver and Emily Kerstein, brainstorms activities and fundraising ideas.

“We are all really proud of our work this year and are so happy to be a part of Relay for Life. As co-chairs we organize the event for our town,” said Meyer. She adds, “Everyone is welcome to come support us to finish the fight against cancer!”

In memory of a loved one, with HOPE for all. Relay for Life Committee Photo
In memory of a loved one, with HOPE for all.
Relay for Life Committee Photo

Student subcommittees handle every detail: survivors’ dinner, entertainment, publicity (posters and social media), team recruitment, sponsorship and selling and decorating thousands of luminaria, paper bags to be filled with sand and candles honoring or remembering all loved ones.

Teams run fundraisers leading up to the event, including bake sales, car washes, yard sales, and jewelry or stationery creations and sales. The Chappaqua Relay, along with each team and individual participant, has a dedicated ACS webpage to help everyone solicit donations from family and friends.

ACS even offers various fundraising tips and incentives, such as Relay paraphernalia awarded for certain dollar amounts reached.

“Chaperones are the unsung heroes of Relay,” said Kaiser, who adds that the event “couldn’t happen without them.” Each youth team must have an adult who supervises overnight, and often those chaperones have friends offer to keep them company. “The community members do it for each other,” she said.

On “Bank Night,” money manually collected is submitted, t-shirts distributed, and campsites assigned. Logistics and paperwork are finalized; each “minor” participant must provide emergency contact information and chaperone confirmation.

In keeping with the community spirit of Relay, many local businesses provide goods and services, according to Kaiser: coffee and hot chocolate from Starbucks, the survivors’ dinner from Villarina’s, movie popcorn from the Jacob Burns Film Center, concession-stand ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s, and survivors’ dinner centerpieces from Whispering Pines.

The Day Arrives

At 8 a.m., Kaiser, the ACS liaison and the school Relay Executive Committee convene at Greeley to unpack and hang 200 signs brought by ACS, which also provides the large survivors’ tent, portable rest rooms, floodlights and lighting poles, all of which are delivered and assembled throughout the morning.

At 10 a.m., the 30-student planning committee begins arriving in shifts to plant stakes labeling the 80 campsites, inflate hundreds of balloons for a balloon arch, hang ACS banners, and ready the survivors’ and registration tents. Thousands of luminaria are filled with sand and placed around the track, and arranged on the bleachers to spell “HOPE.” The snack bar is set up for committee members to take shifts selling snacks like chips, pizza, soda and ice cream.

Between 4 and 6 p.m., participants arrive, register and assemble campsites. School custodians (also “unsung heroes,” said Kaiser), shuttle things on golf carts from parking lot to field, while the school DJ club provides music. Approximately 50 cancer survivors are served dinner, as young and old flood the field.

“Many people come to purchase luminaria for their loved ones so that they can decorate them personally and place it on the track themselves,” explained Kaiser.

The Survivor Lap: The Walk Begins

Relay officially begins at 7 p.m. with the inspirational Survivors’ Lap, accompanied by Melissa Etheridge’s song “I Run for Life;” survivors and their caregivers/families walk the track, wearing purple survivor shirts and sashes, as other participants and guests applaud.

“The first lap that the participants begin walking to was written by a Greeley graduate, Ben Silver (Micaela’s brother),” said Kaiser. “It’s a techno song called Relay that he wrote in order to raise money for Relay for Life at Tufts University when he graduated.  It’s pretty awesome that we have our own song!”

Everyone then walks the track, and runs or visits campsite fundraisers such as penny candy sales, photo booth, dunk tank, wedding booth, “relay-grams,” and “lap trackers,” where a walker purchases a lanyard and receives a bead for each lap walked. The most popular and profitable fundraiser is usually the “jail” created by adjoining soccer nets: individuals pay $5 to have friends “arrested,” or $5 bail for their release.

Luminaria from the 2014 Relay. Relay for Life Committee Photo
Luminaria from the 2014 Relay.
Relay for Life Committee Photo

The Luminaria Ceremony: Honoring Those Lost

As darkness falls, the committee lights candles in the thousands of luminaria lining the track and on the bleachers, each one bearing the name of a person touched by cancer. Light sticks are distributed to everyone present, and the lights on the fields are turned off.

In an incredibly moving and brave ceremony, student speakers talk about their experiences with cancer, either having faced the disease themselves or having watched a parent battle. Kaiser said that the students often volunteer, and are free to speak as long as they’d like without restrictions or time limits. She notes how difficult it is to see students struggle with such heartache.

The assembled audience is then asked to snap their light sticks in memory of loved ones lost to cancer, by turns parents, children, siblings, friends and others. “Hearing the crack, the noise of the light sticks, is just heartbreaking,” said Kaiser. The Greeley Madrigal Choir sings while all present walk a silent lap around the track. The music is the only thing heard, the light sticks, luminaria, and the word HOPE on the bleachers the only illumination.

The Long Overnight

Guests leave by 11 p.m., after which only students cleared with proper permission may stay. Kaiser herself checks registration wristbands throughout the night. Teams take turns walking and sleeping, tossing a frisbee, or playing board games in their tents. A movie is screened in the survivors’ tent, the school Puritans improvisation troupe may perform, even a yoga class may be offered.

At 5 a.m., coffee and bagels are provided, total fundraising announced, and exhausted participants pack up and leave. Committee members stay until 9 a.m. to take down the signs and dismantle the tables and chairs.

“This is a very hardworking committee of students,” said Kaiser. “They’re the muscle, and they’re on all night, too.” Most Relay participants go on 
to walk in their college campus Relays as well.

“Why We Relay”

The ACS philosophy states it best: Relay For Life “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.”

realy-logoRelay for Life is many things to many people: it is an affirmation of life for those who have beaten cancer, it honors those lost to the disease, it is a way of coming together as a community to fight back and raise funds to rid the world of a scourge that has touched everyone in some way. The Chappaqua community has shown its generosity time and again, and Relay for Life is no exception.

To learn more about the Chappaqua Relay for Life or donate, click HERE.

Debra Hand is a longtime writer and editor for Inside Chappaqua. Her daughters have been on the Relay Planning Committee since 2011, and her husband has chaperoned twice (once in a very, VERY small tent).