Rider Raises $55,000 for Relay For Life
Organizers for Rider’s Relay for Life hoped that the event would attract the same enthusiasm and support seen during Midnight MAACness. They not only generated that passion, but raised more than $55,000 — more than doubling their initial goal of $25,000.
Rider’s Student Government Association (SGA), under the leadership of student Heather Fischler, SGA Spirits and Traditions Chair, organized the event, which took place from 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, to 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 29, in the Student Recreation Center. More than 600 participants from the Rider and local communities participated in Relay for Life in order to honor cancer survivors and their caregivers. This was the first year that Rider held Relay for Life. This was also the first full relay organized by American Cancer Society Director of Special Events Christine Sagge ’06.
“At one point, I was on the track and I looked at the SRC courts filled with people, and I just smiled,” said Fischler, a junior Elementary Education and Psychology major, about the event. “I was so proud of Rider as a whole because we set out and accomplished our goal of getting that kind of participation.”
During the community celebration, members from 56 teams took turns walking and running around the track inside the Student Recreation Center to raise funds for cancer research. Almost everyone who participated was somehow affected by cancer. Survivors shared their stories and took the first lap around the track of the 18-hour event.
Shannon Baals, a junior Sociology major, has participated in other cancer walks, but participating in the Rider event was special.
Her father, Jim, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkins lymphoma when she was in seventh grade. Jim was only given five years to live. That was eight years ago.
“He WILL see me graduate from college. He WILL see my sisters graduate from high school and he WILL see us get married,” wrote Shannon Baals on the Relay for Life Web site. “Thanks to the wonderful doctors and researchers, my dad has beaten the odds.”
Jim Baals’ shared his story during the luminary ceremony on Saturday night when hundreds of luminaries were placed around the track to honor cancer survivors as well as friends and family members lost to the disease.
“There was a not a dry eye in the place,” Fischler said.
“It made me proud to go here,” Shannon Baals said. “I felt more connected to people on campus. I felt like everyone was part of my family. My parents, grandparents and sisters were there, and it felt like everyone knew us.”
Mike Zilly, a junior Accounting and Computer Information Systems major, also raised money and participated in Rider’s Relay for Life. At the age of 7, Zilly’s brother, David, was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer that only affects about 200 kids a year. After a long battle, David is now 15 and cancer free.
Mike, David and his parents participated in the event on the Lawrenceville campus.
“Everyone was cheering for him as we walked around the track,” Mike Zilly said about his brother. “He stayed the whole night, met all my friends and did a few laps by himself to reflect on the friendships he has made from the experience.”
Mike Zilly, who participates in other walks with his brother, said it was great to experience an event like Relay for Life with his friends.
“I loved seeing my friends helping out,” he said.
Since 1985, Relay for Life has spread to more 4,700 communities in the United States and has become a worldwide movement, taking place in nine countries. The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by saving lives, diminishing suffering and preventing cancer through research, education, advocacy and service.
Rider organizers are already planning a relay for spring 2010. Fundraising for this year’s relay is open until the end of August. If you would like to make a contribution, please visit http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=18258.
Fischler said the event was so successful because organizers were able to spread the word to the rest of the university and cancer is a topic a lot of people can relate to.
“Cancer is something that touches a lot of people. It was a cause that a lot of people have a connection to and came out to support,” Fischler said.
