Monmouth helps fight cancer one step at a time at “Marga-Relay-ville”

By: Chris Fort
Contributing Writer

What do hoola hoops, bagpipes and duct tape have in common? They were all part of the festivities for this year’s Relay for Life, conducted Friday, April 13 in the Huff Athletic Center.

Every year, students, survivors and active citizens unite for the annual event for one purpose: to find a cure for cancer. This year’s theme of “Marga-Relay-Ville,” inspired by the famous Jimmy Buffett tune, was complimented with Hawaiian leis and non-alcoholic daiquiris. The festivities commenced with the traditional survivor walk at 6:30 p.m. The walk was followed by various events, including a talent show at 10 p.m. and a dance contest at 1 a.m., in which the winner walked away with an iPod Shuffle. Other contests included a hoola hoop showdown and a suitcase race.

To help raise more money, President Mauri Ditzler volunteered to be duct taped to the wall at the price of $1 per foot of tape.

Assorted games such as basketball and volleyball were also conducted to keep the night fun and entertaining. Other methods of raising money included the sale of Whitey’s Ice Cream, delivery pizza, puppy chow and lots of delicious sweets.

All of this meticulous planning was spearheaded by student coordinator Beth Brennan, who has a long history of participating in Relay for Life.

“I’ve been doing Relay for Life for six years now,” the motivated junior said. “I immediately signed on once I arrived at Monmouth my freshman year.”

The structural organization for Relay for Life is a long, extensive process which usually begins in October and consumes more than 100 hours of dedicated work.

After participating as the luminaria chair her freshman year, Brennan co-coordinated Relay for Life last year. This year, she coordinated by herself and was aided by a large collection of students, eager to do their part in the vital occasion. This year’s luminari chair was Jenna Buechel, while sophomore Kaitlyn Dane gave the survival speech. Sarah Nokes, Kelly Bobik and Erik Kammerer all helped organize the activities and entertainment for the long night, while more than a dozen others contributed in some fashion or another.

“We’re always looking for faculty to participate, though,” Brennan noted.

All of the money raised in the 12-hour event goes, in one form or another, to help fight cancer. Money that does not go to research for finding a cure goes to advocacy groups such as the movement to ban smoking in public facilities. Other funds go to programs such as Road to Recovery, which provides transportation to cancer patients to their chemotherapy treatment, as well as counseling services.

All of this work and effort is done in the hopes that one day there will be a cure for every form of cancer. The set goal is to have a cure by the year 2015.

This year, the students at Monmouth helped net more $16,000 to help the cause. The fight to find a cure is far from over, though, so Relay for Life is far from becoming a thing of the past.

“The goal is always to get everyone as involved and excited as possible,” Brennan reminded. “We’ll be here next April, too.”