Lipscomb to host fourth-annual Relay For Life event this Friday
Haley Coble |
This weekend, on Feb. 5, Lipscomb University will host its fourth-annual Relay For Life event in Allen Arena.
According to The American Cancer Society, each year more than four million people in over 20 countries raise much needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer through the Relay For Life movement.
Founded by Lipscomb alumni CeCe Ramsey (’14) and Cameron Gilliam (’13) in 2013, Lipscomb’s own The Relay For Life event has become a highly anticipated event for students for students to give back, year-after-year.
In past years, Lipscomb University has raised nearly $100,000 for the American Cancer Society and has honored countless lives of Lipscomb student’s and staff member’s friends and family that have been impacted by cancer.
This year’s theme is Knock Out Cancer, and will feature classic Lipscomb Relay events including Bubble Ball, the Lip Sync Battle, a hypnotist, sumo wrestling, Zumba and Yoga, as well as some theme-related events.
Angela Sullivan, executive co-chair for Lipscomb's annual Relay for Life event, has been involved with this campus-uniting event for the past three years.
“We work closely with the Inter-Club Council (ICC) and Greek Life at Lipscomb to get all social clubs involved. Social clubs are a very active part of Lipscomb's community and we really want to honor that,” said Sullivan.
Each year, every social club on campus has a team that signs up online and fundraises until the night of the Relay for Life event. During the event, the teams continue to raise money by running their own fundraising booth that could include anything from selling cupcakes to henna tattoos.
“While our social clubs do play a huge role, our relay teams are made up of clubs and organizations all across campus and the way all of our teams work together for the cause is really a unique part of the event,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan explained that this year’s goal is to raise $40,000, a record amount from previous years.
“We're currently at around $16,000, but the last two weeks (and night of) Relay is where they say 90 percent of the fundraising happens, so we have high hopes that the Lipscomb community will rise up and meet our expectations,” Sullivan continued.
For Peter Chimera, Lipscomb senior and co-chair of Lipscomb’s Relay For Life, this event has a very personal meaning.
“When I was in elementary school we lost my grandmother to cancer, and I had to watch cancer suck the life out of her, which really hurt,” Chimera explained. “Relay for Life gives me an opportunity to fight back and hopefully one day see the life taken out of cancer.”
One special part of the night is the Luminaria ceremony, Sullivan explained.
“Luminarias are small white bags that we sell for $10 and that we decorate In Honor or In Memory of specific friends and family who are fighting cancer or who have passed away from cancer,” said Sullivan. “They line our track at the event and we take some time to honor and remember them. Moments like those are what make the whole night worth it.”
Despite all of the activities going on, Chimera says he likes to keep his focus on what this event is really all about.
“I love to just take a minute, stand at the top of the bleachers and watch over 1,000 people standing together and fighting back,” he said. “It gives me a chance to see how committed Lipscomb really is to this cause and reminds me how much of a family this school truly is.”