'All-night party' Relay for Life raises funds for cancer research

By: Kimber Wenzelburger

Posted: 2/27/08

Relay for Life might sometimes be mistaken for a foot race, but the UA event, Razorback Relay, will be more like a big party, members of Colleges Against Cancer agreed.

"I think a lot of people think that [it's a race]," said Erin Scarbrough, luminaria chairperson for the event.

"There's no racing involved, except racing to win the twinkie-eating contest and the hot-wing eating contest."

Razorback Relay is still being planned, but, in addition to contests, the April 4 event will involve games, karaoke, square-dancing, music and Monster pong - sponsored by Monster energy drinks, said Steve Sparks, founder and president of Colleges Against Cancer, which is working directly through the American Cancer Society to host the event.

The "all-night party" also will include a night-long softball or ultimate Frisbee tournament and "tons of food and free stuff," said Will Fraser, secretary and treasurer of Colleges Against Cancer.

MTVU will be coming to the UA campus to host a Relay for Life episode for its show "The Dean's List," Sparks said, and will be shooting live from the event and around campus.

"It is just going to be a fun time," he said. "Bring a tent and camp out with your friends. It will be the most fun you can have while you're making a difference in your community."

Relay for Life, key to fundraising for the American Cancer Society, "is a unique event that … remembers those who have lost the fight [against cancer] and honors those who have survived," Sparks said.

Students or Fayetteville residents can purchase luminarias - white bags with a candle in each - "in honor of" or "in memory of" someone who has battled or is battling cancer, Scarbrough said.

Each luminaria is $10 and will be displayed at the relay during the luminaria ceremony - also known as the Ceremony of Hope.

One of the main purposes of the event, however, is fundraising for cancer research, and students who join an 8-15 person team can help with the effort.

"Our money can go a long way," Sparks said.

Fundraising for cancer research has previously aided in "the discovery of genes in breast and colon cancer, identification of smoking as a cause of lung cancer, increased cure rates for childhood leukemia and a discovery of a type of chemotherapy for colon cancer," he said.

Relay for Life teams can sign up to participate in the event through http://events.cancer.org/razorbackrelay, and if they sign up by Saturday, they are guaranteed a T-shirt, Sparks said.

Each member of a team must pay $10 - which covers the cost of the T-shirt - and the minimum amount for a team to raise is $100, meaning if 10 people are on a team, their goal has been reached, he said.

"The best thing about Relay is that it offers community-wide support for anyone who has survived cancer, is facing it currently or lost someone to it," said sophomore Kaitlin Hart, who is on a team with seven other girls.

"You can't find that kind of support and love anywhere else," she said.

"Relay directly helps fund cancer research and honor and celebrate people who've had cancer," Fraser said. "Without raising funds for cancer research, cancer will never be beaten.

"There are so many ways to make money, and teams can have so much fun doing it," he said.

"Fundraising for Relay is the perfect reason to act silly and ridiculous. Who is not going to fund cancer research?

"The only real excuse for not getting involved, aside from a conflicting event, is apathy, and apathy concerning a disease that will affect between half and a third of all people throughout the average lifetime is a bad thing," he said.

In 2007, more than 14,000 people in Arkansas were estimated to have been diagnosed with some form of cancer, and more than 6,000 Arkansans were estimated to have died from cancer, according to the ACS Web site.

An estimated 1,500 people will die each day from cancer, the second leading cause of death in the U.S., Sparks said.

"One way or another, everyone has been touched by cancer," he said. "Why not get involved to help make a difference?"

Hart heard about Relay for Life in high school "and wanted to get involved immediately, since I've lost a lot of loved ones to cancer," she said.

"I think the best way to honor them is through supporting events like this because it shows that their fight hasn't gone forgotten and that everyone is continuing to fight for them," Hart said.

"Relay is a great way to help find a cure and remember those that have been diagnosed with cancer," Sparks said.

"Also, Relay is fun. It's just a fun way to help those that have helped you."

Although the event is student-driven, everyone in Fayetteville, as well as on the UA campus, is invited to attend the event, Sparks said.

"Relay for Life will only be as big as the students want it to be," Fraser said.

"It's a community-wide event, but since it's on the university campus, the students will have to go out into the community to get the whole town involved.

"This is a great chance to further mesh the UA with the Fayetteville community and raise money for cancer research and cancer awareness," he said.

Razorback Relay will begin about 5 p.m. April 4 and last until about 5 a.m. on the UA Intramural Fields.

"Whether or not you want to raise money, I just hope we can get as many people as possible out to the event," he said. "The more people there, the more fun it will be for everyone."