students for the American Cancer Society. Vanguard Photographer | Audrey Bergey
Relay for Life of Saginaw Valley State University hosted its annual week of events to raise money towards its goal.
Over the course of 2022, the goal is to raise $25,000. However, for the members, it’s not just about the funds.
Communication and literature major Lizzy Simon and Eboard member of Relay for Life explained:
“Relay For Life of SVSU and Saginaw County’s goal is to raise both funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society,” she said. “We hope to raise awareness about cancer and show a strong, supportive group to anyone in the campus community that may be affected by cancer.”
Most of the fundraising comes from different events.
“[The] events are where most of our fundraising comes from,” she said. “We’ve been prepping and planning for this week all year, hoping that our fundraising goal would be met by the end of this week.”
The week kicked off with a 5k with over 50 participants.
Simon was excited to have in person fundraising before she graduates.
“I’ve been planning Relays since 2019, and this is my first in-person Relay. It feels great to be celebrating and raising funds in-person,” she said.
Rehabilitation medicine major Meghan Stange, an eboard member said choosing a favorite event from the week was hard but the 3v3 basketball tournament brought her the most excitement.
“We have had many faculty members sign up and I am so grateful that the SVSU faculty and staff are so involved in campus life,” she said. “I think that we are going to have so much fun watching them compete.”
In addition to a 5k and a basketball tournament, they hosted an RSO garage sale, trivia night, and Friday night blow-out, which was an event filled with prizes and crafts.
Rehabilitation medicine major Katelyn Haskins said the RSO garage sale was her favorite event from the week.
“It was great working with various organizations on campus to ask if they had any merch or t-shirts they would like to donate for us to sell and raise money for the American Cancer Society,” Haskins said. “We had a line of students waiting to get into the event and it was amazing to see everyone so excited to buy gear and also donate money for a great cause.”
On Monday, they hosted their Relay for Life Coffee House which is an event they normally host every month during the school year. At the event, they featured a glow-stick ceremony for those that have struggled with cancer.
“The Glowstick Ceremony was a demonstration that showed how each individual person had been affected by cancer, and by the end of the ceremony, everyone’s glowstick was lit, which signifies that everyone in the room was affected by cancer in one way or another,” Simon said. “It was a beautiful demonstration that showed that no one is alone and we are fighting cancer together.”
These events are a great way for students to be involved in supporting the Relay for Life cause, organizers said.
“Students were able to stop by at each of our events to get involved and raise money for the American Cancer Society,” Stange said.
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