The American Cancer Society had its 11th annual "Relay for Life" in the Allen Center Friday night and Saturday morning of last week. It is the 4th time Wabash College has hosted Montgomery County’s Relay for Life, joining the community together on a common cause.
The American Cancer Society is a health organization that dedicates itself to the fight against cancer, through research, education, patient services, and through political advocacy. The A.C.S. is the largest non-governmental funding agent of research for cancer and The Relay for Life is the A.C.S’s largest fund raiser. It is generally held one day a year at different communities all across the nation, it is a fairly multifaceted event that not only raises money for a great cause, but serves as a celebration of life, and a chance to remember those who lost theirs to a terrible disease.
Ruthanna Williamson, President of the Montgomery County Chapter of the A.C.S, organized the event this year which included a number of entertainment options ranging from live music and dancing to football tossing and of course walking and jogging. The Relay was said to be extremely successful by Jim Amidon, member of the planning committee and director of public affairs at Wabash. By the end of the Relay at 5 a.m Saturday they had already raised more than $70,000 with an expected $7000 - $10000 typically coming in the following week. Stacy Sommer, who was also involved in the event, said that in previous years Wabash and the County toyed with the idea of hosting two separate relays. That idea was discarded on the basis of both Wabash and the County being one single community.
President White spoke along the same lines, emphasizing the importance of giving back to the community and how "great it is to have Wabash men here" participating in such an important event. Amidon also stressed the Wabash involvement when he said, "It was exciting for me as a member of the planning committee to see the Wabash students rally the last two weeks to make this year's Relay for Life the best event with which I've been involved. I had modest expectations, but when all the money was in, Wabash guys helped raise over $5,000 for the cause. While I'd still like to get more faculty and staff involved in this important fund-raising event for the American Cancer Society, the students stood tall and have every right to be proud of their efforts."
Wabash students participated in a variety of different ways. A number of them helped by donating like the football team and Adi Pyneberg which raised over $1500. The Theta Delts, Betas and Kappa Sigs donated large amount of money to the fund as well. Alpha Phi Omega ran a concession stand, and the TKES sold ice cream cones with all proceeds going to the Relay fund. Wabash involvement wasn’t, however, limited to fundraising, a number of Wabash students were seen participating in the Relay itself some representing their living units, most notably the Phi Delts which participated from the start at 5 p.m. until the end at 5 a.m.
Ultimately, it is perhaps the night scene of the Little Giants stadium’s stands that best characterize this event, a number candles in the rain which spelled out the word Hope.