Relay For Life garnered the participation of over 1,800 student volunteers Friday night through its partnership with Madison House. The event was held for 12 hours from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and combined a traditional Relay fundraiser with Madison House’s annual Big Event, which sponsored 25 different volunteer sites throughout the community this year.
After 13 years on Grounds, the University’s chapter of Relay for Life has been recognized as a Top 15 Collegiate Event in the world. This year, Relay exceeded its goal of $175,000 by raising a total of $179,000 for cancer research.
Fourth-year Architecture student Katie Bailey, co-chair of Relay for Life, said the cause is important to her because many people in her life have been affected by cancer.
“I think one of the motivating parts of relaying is that there are a lot of reasons to do it,” Bailey said. “One in three women and one in two men are going to have cancer in their lifetime, so everyone’s been affected by it at some point.”
Third-year College student Tahir Ahmad, co-chair of the finance committee for Relay, has similar reasons for participating in the cause.
“Once you get involved in it so much, everyone’s story becomes a part of your story, and you get so attached to [these stories], you are so dedicated to finding a cure,” Ahmad said.
Second-year Curry student Dani Ashum, who has been involved in both Relay and Madison House’s Big Event, spent her morning at the Lile Mile.
“[The Lile Mile] benefitted the Hannah Graham Alternative Spring Break Endowment Fund,” Ashum said. “The Big Event volunteers set up, checked people in and stood along the race course directing people where to run.”
First-year College student Meagan Josephs, a participant in the Big Event, cleared vines in Rockfish Valley, a small town making strides to preserve its nature and environment.
“The whole reason we were clearing vines was so an archaeologist could come back and find the history of the town, and help restore it,” Josephs said. “It felt like I was becoming involved in something bigger than myself.”
Fourth-year Commerce Student Stephanie Bolton was responsible for organizing the bulk of the recruitment and volunteering logistics of the Big Event.
“What’s cool about [the Big Event] is that we do the upkeep that goes on behind the scenes,” Bolton said. “This is a busy time for everyone, but this was a reality check telling us, ‘There are a lot of people in Charlottesville, there are a lot of people at UVA, [and] we can get together for a few hours with 300 students and do so much.’’’
Bolton said Relay’s partnership with Madison House was a step in a positive direction.
“I met with the Big Event team, and we just talked about how we could combine these two events in a meaningful way,” Bailey said. “That’s how we came up with ‘Relay by Night, Service by Day.’ It was [coincidentally] also TJ’s birthday weekend, so it worked out perfectly because one of Relay’s mottos is ‘celebrate more birthdays.’”
Third-year College student Connor Skahill, fundraising co-chair for Relay, also supported the collaboration between Madison House and Relay for Life.
“The partnership is really important to get people to realize how important community service is, and get away from academic life for a little, and realize what’s important,” Skahill said.
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