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Printer-Friendly ModeOvernight event concludes Relay
April 10, 2006 —
Over $32,000 was raised by the time Relay For Life volunteers hung up their walking shoes at 7 a.m. on Saturday in the Ryder Center.
For 12 hours, 30 teams walked and participated in various forms of entertainment to support the American Cancer Society.
Tim Ashley, sophomore and president of SVSU's South East Community Council, was part of two teams. He walked for the SECC and for Delta Sigma Pi.
"I like helping out philanthropically," Ashley said. "I'm participating in this event to experience it, and I know it's going toward a good cause too."
Ashley did most of his fund-raising prior to the Relay. Some teams, however, focused their fund-raising strategies on the actual day of the Relay. Carnival-type games and massages were offered by various teams to raise money during the event.
The College of Education team, You Can Call Us Ed, raised the most of all teams.
The team of 36 people raised over $3,800 and they walked largely to honor current cancer survivor Nancy Meadows.
"This is very personal for us," said Nicole Arbury, director of Clinical Experiences in the COE. "We're watching up close on a daily basis a person in the fight of her life. This is something we can do to show our support."
Meadows retired from 32 years of teaching in 1998. She has been working as the assistant director of Clinical Experiences in the COE for the past six years.
She underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation after being diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. In January, she learned that the cancer had spread to her liver.
"I'm proud that the College of Ed has a team for this cause and has raised so much money," Meadows said. "This event is important to raise money to find a cure."
The overall theme of the Relay was "Rockin' Out to Knockout Cancer." This was the slogan found on t-shirts designed and contributed by Nikki Schwartz and Kerri White of the Student Nurses Association.
The self-described "punkish/rockish" bands of Any Given Hour and 2 Finger Salute helped comprise the event's ongoing musical entertainment.
"I was asked if I wanted to play for Relay," said Bobby Finn, lead singer and guitarist of 2 Finger Salute. "I said, 'Are you kidding me? Of course I'll do it.'"
Saginaw's Sharkbrothers Entertainment also provided free DJ services throughout the night.
One of the highlights of the evening was the Dance Competition.
The Eighties Chicks, Abby Marshall, and Cale Wassermann worked up a sweat as finalists competing to the lyrics of the Black Eyed Peas' "Pump It."
"I feel like I'm on American Idol right now," said SA representative Jessica Gibson, who emceed the competition.
Marshall's tap skills eventually proved more impressive than Wasserman's "freestyle." She won first place and a $50 gift certificate to Best Buy.
"I can't compete with her," Wassermann admitted afterward. "My buddies just dared me to go in at the last minute."
Another memorable moment took place during the Date Auction, when Carly Toyzan's promise to "bake her date some cookies and make out with him" brought about an all-out bidding war between several male audience members.
However, Andy Suszek won with a bid of $100, which was the highest bid of the night on all contestants.
Throughout the event, free food was made available to participants. 7-Eleven, Little Caesars, Big Apple Bagel, and SVSU's Dining Services donated food so that attendees could eat at no cost. Dominos also offered special deals for the event.
At one point of the Relay, five women agreed to cut their hair on stage and donate it to Locks of Love.
"As much as I love my hair, I know some little girl with cancer will appreciate it more than I do," said SA representative Julie Akright, who had quite a few inches of hair chopped off.
In one corner of the gym, Program Board set up free Human Foosball, which was exactly as the name implies.
Participants were strung together in lines while a ball was kicked around inside a padded area in an attempt to get it past opposing goals.
There also was the greatly anticipated Mr. Relay event, when teams dressed one of their male members up as a woman and had him compete in a pageant for the most donations from supporters.
"I'm going to win this because I'm just damn prettier than everybody else," replied one hopeful Mr. Relay contestant prior to the pageant.
Mike Miller - a.k.a. Miss Ivanna Miller - ended up taking home the first place prize, which was a basketball autographed by Saginaw native Jason Richardson of the Golden State Warriors.
The center of the entire Relay event was when luminary bags were lit around the track for the midnight Survivor Ceremony. Each bag had been individually decorated in memory of a victim of cancer.
As student Artist Pietrykowski sang, everyone in the gym joined with the attending cancer survivors as they walked around the track.
It was announced that the walk was a "way to pay tribute to those we love and to all those lives touched by cancer."
All merchandise sold at the Relay went entirely towards the ACS, and SVSU accounting students were given the task of bookkeeping for the night.
A committee of five SA volunteers organized the event with the guidance of ACS representative Tricia Lathrom. Suszek, Anneliese Pfruender, and Katie Schoenek were in charge of planning, while SA reps Justin Findlay and Gibson acted as advisors.
The committee allotted a $6,000 budget in order to make this event possible.
"We wanted to support people who are fighting cancer," Gibson said. "SVSU really seems to care a lot about cancer. It is something everyone is aware of and wants to help fight."
The cause hit especially close to home for one of the committee members.
Pfruender's 14-year-old brother was recently diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer in his liver. He has since undergone three rounds of chemotherapy at Mott Children's Hospital.
Just last week, doctors were surprised to learn that her brother's tumor shrank 50 percent. He will still be required to receive surgery after more chemotherapy.
"It gave me that extra push to be involved," Pfruender said. "I mean, I was involved with Relay before, but now I have something that really drives me."
Gibson summed up the spirit of the entire event quite easily.
"This event is fun," she said. "But, people also know it's so much more than that."