Many people gathered at Perry Field House to participate in Relay for Life, which began on Saturday night at 7 to Sunday morning at 7. This event signifies cancer awareness and honors people who have survived cancer in the past, people currently fighting cancer and to honor people who have lost their lives to cancer.
The relay is a team fundraising event where team members take turns walking around the track. Each team is asked to have a member on the track at all times to signify that cancer never sleeps. When a certain team is not called onto the track, there are many games, food and activities to participate in while they were waiting.
Heidi Nafziger, the community manager for Relay for Life, said how much money was raised last year and what the expectations were this year.
“Last year we raised just over $43,000,” said Nafziger. “I would say our goal for the event is about $50,000, which is definitely attainable considering how we had so many wonderful people participating last year, and I expect the same this year.”
While many people participate in the event to donate to a good cause, many people do it for a personal reason. Taylor Hertzfeld, who is involved in the College Against Cancer program, participated not only to help raise awareness, but also to help a special person in her life.
“I got involved in Colleges Against Cancer, which is the organization here at BGSU that puts on (the) relay, because my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, and I wanted to help raise awareness of cancer,” Hertzfeld said. “I wanted to help raise money for the American Cancer Society because all of the money raised goes directly to help out cancer patients and to help find a cure. I am very passionate about this organization and event and it is very eye-opening to see how many people out there who have loved ones that are battling cancer or have had cancer in the past. We relay for them and we want them to know how much they mean to us and that they have all of our support through their journey.”
Perhaps the most emotional part of the night was the frst walk for all of the participants. Heartfelt music blasted through the air and emotions were high throughout the first walk of the night. Joe Clifton, who was a participant of the event, walked in honor of his two grandmothers. One of them battled breast cancer and won, but the other lost to pancreatic cancer. Nevertheless, Clifton felt very happy walking around the lap kicking off the event.
“I mean, it was nice seeing everyone doing it,” said Clifton. “It kind of creates the feeling that it’s larger than what you think it is. How many people it actually touches and what it actually goes from there. Also, just how large it actually is.”
It was a night to remember for everyone involved as 56 teams and 626 participants raised a total of $49,470.61 throughout the night. Whether people were walking for a good cause, family member or someone they knew, participants made a difference in helping those who are fighting cancer by donating.
