Hofstra’s American Cancer Society will host the first in-person Relay For Life in four years on Saturday, May 6. // Photo courtesy of Chelsea Whitney.
Hofstra’s American Cancer Society (ACS) chapter will host its annual Relay For Life event on Saturday, May 6. It will be their first in-person relay event in four years.
The past three relays were either canceled or conducted virtually due to the pandemic and spikes in positive cases. However, this year, as the COVID-19 levels in New York continue to trend downward, Hofstra’s ACS chapter was given the clear in March to begin planning for the upcoming relay.
“I think the hardest part was not being able to come together as a community in any capacity, but especially at Relay For Life,” said Chelsea Whitney, senior development manager at the ACS. “It’s a very special place where survivors and caregivers are honored, [and] it’s a great place for people to grieve those that they have loved and lost to this terrible disease.”
Although past on-campus relays were open to teams outside the Hofstra community, this year’s event is centered around introducing Hofstra students to the event. The last in-person Relay was held in 2019, which means that most of the current student population was not here to experience it.
“The goal is to definitely get as many people as we can [to attend] because I think what matters more is not the money this year but the awareness of it and making sure that the campus knows that it’s happening,” said Makenna Robbins, president of Hofstra’s ACS chapter.
The relay will feature many different types of activities for attendees, including team fundraisers, carnival games like pie a professor in the face and tug-of-war and performances by Danceworks and Hofstra’s a cappella groups. In addition, various ceremonies will be held throughout the night dedicated to remembering lost loved ones and providing support for survivors and caregivers.
Robbins said that the luminaria ceremony and the silent lap around the track tend to be the most emotional moments of the night. A luminaria is a bag filled with lights that can be decorated with the name of an individual who lost their battle with cancer, a survivor or someone who is currently battling cancer. Then, after dark, the bags are used to light the track and provide a guiding light for the participants.
“There will always be someone walking on there, and [with] each lap, you’re showing that you’re giving hope to people with cancer,” Robbins said.
To join Relay For Life, students can register individually or with their student organizations as a team. Approximately 20 teams have registered to participate in the event and started to fundraise.
Paige McLear, a senior political science major, is a part of the Phi Alpha Delta/Moot Court team and is listed as having raised the most money for her team.
“My oldest brother was actually one of the biggest [donors] for me, so that was very important,” McLear said. “My grandfather passed away from cancer when I was nine, so it’s a very impactful thing for my family. It feels good to know that I’m raising this money, and it is going to something that I care about.”
Whitney and Robbins both discussed the importance of hosting a Relay For Life on campus because students will be motivated to attend other relays in the future and advocate for those who are affected by cancer every day.
“I think college students are our future, and it’s a wonderful example of the power of community and the power of coming together for a united cause,” Whitney said. “Hofstra University, in the past, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer research and for cancer patients and their families, and they wouldn’t have been able to do that if this event didn’t take place and bring the community together.”
The Relay For Life will take place from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. on May 6 at the Intramural Fields.