When there are around 90 students in the building at East there is typically plenty of energy in the gymnasium, but at 9:30 p.m for one day, students just walked in silence around the upper deck in solidarity for cancer awareness.
“[Cancer], such a popular thing you can kind of lose how detrimental it is, walking around the track to show the struggle and persistence they have to have and how long of a journey it is,” Relay For Life junior chair Sarah Leininger told Spark.
East hosted their annual Relay For Life event on April 25 with a slightly different look than years prior. Instead of an overnight stay inside the football stadium, the event shifted to a sports night inside the gym.
The event is organized by the Relay For Life subcommittee, under the umbrella club Hawks Against Cancer. Senior chairs Bella Dixon and Sophia Ford spearheaded the planning for the 2025 event.
But, despite the different look, the sentiment and goal remains the same: increase cancer awareness within the community.
“[Relay For Life] represents community, that we are all there for people that are dealing with cancer, are survivors of it, being there for them and raising more [awareness] for them,” Relay For Life fundraising chair Addy Dailey told Spark.
In the past East has been unable to host a traditional Relay For Life as, “the weather wasn’t cooperating for a while,” East assistant athletic director and Hawks for the Cure advisor John Mason told Spark.
Forces of nature in tandem with waning attendance numbers since the COVID-19 pandemic moved the organizers to find a new way to run the event.
“[Last year] we had a fraction of participants than the following years; it kind of has been pushing more towards this [attendance],” Dixon told Spark.
Normally, Relay For Life is a run or walk where each person and their team of 8-10 goes on the race track for 12-24 hours. When each member of a team must be on the track at all times.
The three and a half hour event cost $25 to attend compared to the $100 students were required to fundraise in years past.
All of the funds from the entry fee and raffle baskets go directly to the American Cancer Society, a non-profit organization that funds cancer research, patient support, and education about cancer.
“You are a part of something bigger,” Mason told Spark. “Anytime you can give back to a community, it is something I think you should always do.”
In an effort to raise more money, there were raffle baskets on the night of the event.
One raffle ticket was awarded to any participant who raised $50. Once the $50 mark was hit, 1 ticket was $5 and 5 tickets were $20.
“[The baskets are] all donations, some of them are a ton of money,” Dailey told Spark.
The baskets included items such as: prom tickets, parking spots, beauty items, bundt cakes, chicken restaurants, and coffee places.
“[It is great] knowing all the money and time and effort all goes back to people who really need it, and people who really benefit from it,” Dixon told Spark.
The event supports and remembers people with cancer and their families. Everyone involved with the event described it as incredibly hopeful.
“[Relay For Life] gives so much hope out to these people to see that there is a community that is rallying behind the same issue and everyone is united to fight this terrible thing that happens to people,” Dixon told Spark.
They wanted the night to focus on “help[ing] identify and help you understand the struggle of somebody who’s going through cancer,” according to Mason.
Participants within Relay for Life are encouraged to bring cancer survivors to the event.
“The personal connection towards your survivor and them is where they feel appreciated,” Ford told Spark.
Starting the ceremony, co-presidents Ford and Dixon gave an opening speech about the meaning of the night. Soon after, the festivities commenced.
This year focused on larger games where everyone was able to participate together.
The first events, pickleball and basketball were held in the main and auxiliary gym respectively. After those games wrapped up, “backyard games, Kan Jam, SmashNet, Spike Ball, cornhole, volleyball, [basically] a giant grad party,” were set up on the main gym floor according to Mason.
Finally, the luminaria ceremony began. The decorative bags were lit up with candles emitting a soft warm light.
The small bags of messages and names uphold a remembrance and support for those who have been impacted by cancer as the night ends.
“It gives everyone so much hope to know that there is a community surrounding it,” Dixon told Spark.
