Annual Relay for Life to be held Saturday

Jessica Goodwin

The Kent State Field house will be flooded with hope this Saturday, April 27. From 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. students and community members are encouraged to participate in Relay for Life events to fundraise for The American Cancer Society.

There will be events throughout the day and night that KSU students and Kent residents are all welcome to participate in.

Schedule of events:

  • 11 a.m. Relay begins
  • 11:30 a.m. Opening ceremony
  • Noon: Survivor and caregiver lunch, Mario Kart
  • 1 p.m. – Lip sync battle
  • 2 p.m. – Kickball tournament
  • 3 p.m. – Musically chairs scavenger hunt
  • 4 p.m. – Olympic games
  • 5 p.m. – Cornhole tournament
  • 6 p.m. – Vocal Intensity performance
  • 7 p.m. – Trackside trivia
  • 8 p.m. – Yoga
  • 9 p.m. – Luminaria ceremony
  • 10 p.m. – Relay dance party
  • 10:30 p.m. – Closing ceremony and awards
  • 11 p.m. – Last lap of 2019 and first lap of 2020

Times subject to change.

“It is free to come, you don’t necessarily need to be on a team or pay money to come. If you just want to come check it out you are more than welcome to,” said Abigail Lilli, a senior marketing major and co-president of Relay For Life KSU.

Lilli and co-president, Danielle Brugh, a senior early childhood education major, have been planning this relay since last year’s event. They both laughed and simultaneously said, “a lot” when asked how much work goes into planning.

To prepare their committee, Lilli and Brugh took their team to The Hope Lodge in Cleveland. The Hope Lodge is a part of The American Cancer Society program that provides a free home away from home for cancer patients and their caregivers.

“It is nice to take them (new committee members) to Hope Lodge to kind of see where their money is going, and… if they haven’t had a family member who’s been affected by cancer it actually gives them a purpose and (helps them) feel like they are really doing something,” Lillie said.

With a goal of $50,000, the two seniors hope to “go big or go home” for their last Relay here at Kent State. Teams, as well as individuals, have already gotten the ball rolling on fundraising. According to the Kent State Relay website, the top raising teams so far are Chi Omega, with $4,089, and Phi Sigma Pi’s PIrates of the Cureibbean, with $3,070 (Fundraising numbers as of April 24). They have already raised over $20,000, and with most of their raising typically coming from the day of the event, Lilli and Brugh are confident they will reach their goal with the help of the Kent community.

For more information on how to get involved, visit Relay For Life’s KSU website.

Jessica Goodwin covers charity. Contact her at [email protected].