March
26th was not a typical Friday night for many Marian students.
Instead of heading to the movies or to the mall as usual, they grabbed their
favorite tennis shoes and joined other students from local high schools in the
fight against cancer.
The
students participated in the Relay For Life for Metro Omaha Youth, sponsored by
the American Cancer Society. This is the signature event for the American
Cancer Society. It involves teams participating in an all night,
non-competitive walk/run to raise money and awareness for the fight against
cancer.
Organizing
the event took many months and a lot of hard work on the part of American
Cancer Society employees and a volunteer youth committee. Marian senior Amanda
Landolt was the head of the youth committee.
³It
was hard in the beginning because I wasnıt really sure what I was doing, but it
got easier and all came together by the end,² Landolt said.
One
of the committee members' first tasks was to find volunteer team captains. The
captains then formed their own teams of 8 to 15 people and encourage the
fundraising efforts. Since this particular Relay For Life was for Omaha youth,
the teams consisted of high school students, mostly juniors and seniors. Most
relays are open to the general community, and the teams may be composed of
anyone from family members to co-workers.
The
main purpose of the relay is to raise funds for cancer research, patient
services and educational outreach. The American Cancer Society is one of the
largest sources of private, non-profit research funds in the United States.
They have distributed $2.4 billion to researchers since 1947. Relay for Life is
a major source of that research money, and each team member is asked to raise
$100 towards the team goal. One Marian team reached the national bronze level
of fundraising with a final team amount of $1,500.80.
"I
was really proud of our team because we raised the last $60 that night to reach
the goal. We all worked hard and as a team," said junior Sara Drews.
Fundraising
was accomplished through many means. There were two bake sales held in the Quad
by Relay For Life teams to help reach their goals. Door to door methods also
proved effective. The skills Marian girls learned during Walk-A-Thon
fundraising can be put to use for another event too.
"I
am always afraid to ask people, but because it is for such a great cause you
would be surprised how generous people are," said junior Brianna
Rochford.
The
relay kicked off at 7 P.M. at the Christ Community Church, with cancer
survivors walking the first lap around the track. The Christ Community Church
donated the use of the facilities for the walk. The relay was held inside the
building and the track rambled throughout the first floor of the Church. Names
in honor or memory of cancer patients were visible on the paper footprints
marking the track.
"When
I felt really tired as I was walking at three in the morning," said Becca
Gard, a junior at Skutt, "I just looked at the names on the footprints and
kept going."
Only
one member of each team had to be walking at a time, with at least one team
member walking throughout the entire night. For the other team members there
were plenty of games, food, and even quiet corners to grab a couple minutes of
sleep.
³My
favorite thing was just being able to spend the whole night with my friends and
meet new people, while knowing we had raised money for the American Cancer
Society,² said junior Frannie Maier.
This
yearıs Relay for Life was a considerable success. The number of team jumped
from 19 to 25 from just last year. As a result the total funds raised was a
substantial sum of $26,892.70 before expenses. ³The relay was absolutely a
success. Everyone seemed to be having fun, and the cancer survivors present
were impressed with the event,² said Jennifer Talarico, the ACS community
specialist.
The
Omaha high school youth that participated in this yearıs Relay For Life,
including the five Marian teams, made a difference in their community on March
26th.
They
put their best walking foot forward in the fight against cancer.