Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor thunderstorms will keep dedicated walkers from raising money for the American Cancer Society at Ohio University's Relay for Life tonight.
Despite weather forecasts for rain and thunderstorms, people will be out walking rain or shine
said Lauren Smith, OU sophomore and chair of the OU Relay for Life committee.
It's not like people can stop having cancer 'til we find a cure Smith said. It won't bother me.
Rain is a common theme for Relay and should not be a factor for the event, said Jamie Newland, an OU sophomore.
This'll be my third relay; I've never been to one where people didn't show up -I've also never been to one where it didn't rain said Newland, who is also a member of the Relay committee. The weather is something you just sort of deal with.
About 30 teams have worked to reach this year's OU Relay for Life goal of $41,000, which will go to the American Cancer Society. These teams will walk tonight and into tomorrow, for a total of 18 hours and countless laps around the track at West State Street Park. Last year about 20 teams participated and raised about $23,000, after expenses, Smith said.
The committee formed last year after OU Relay branched off from the Athens County Relay to have its own event.
Preparing for Relay is a year-long process that starts in the fall, Smith said. About 20 people are on the committee, which has nine sections, including entertainment, public relations and survivorship. Smith's co-chair Michele Satchell, is currently in France.
Last year's committee advisor, Sharon Romina, the project coordinator for the American Cancer Society Partnership with the College of Communication, worked this year to notify survivors about the event. She brought in OU alumna and cancer survivor Rebecca Gifford to speak at the opening ceremonies. Gifford wrote a book, Cancer Happens: Coming of Age with Cancer and spoke at the Mom's Walk for the Cure May 1.
Contacting survivors is an important part of Relay for Life because the event was started to honor them, Romina said. The committee's current advisor, Wendy Rogers, is a Resident Director on South Green and a cancer survivor.
This year's Relay differs somewhat from last year's event, Smith said.
It's No. 1
bigger
and No. 2
there are a lot more people involved
including survivors
she said. Everything seemed to expand greatly
which is what we wanted.
Relay for Life attracts so many people because cancer affects almost everyone, Smith said. During a Fall Quarter rally to raise awareness about Relay, she realized how prevalent cancer is.
She asked people to stand who had either had cancer themselves or who knew someone who had cancer -family members, friends, anyone at all.
Every person in the room was standing
Smith said. It does affect so many people.
Relay also brings people together for a higher reason, Newland said.
The people who come out
who want to walk to support Relay
