Fordham Relay for Life hopes to increase participating and fundraising this year. Samuel Joseph/The Ram
By Anthony Pucik
Cancer is a sensitive topic and chances are someone close to you knows someone that has been affected by it. This is the motivation behind Fordham’s Relay For Life, who had their 2015 kickoff last night in the McGinley Ballroom.
“I’ve always looked at [Relay] as this community event that brings people together from all different backgrounds,” said Jenna La Magna FCRH ’15, Vice President of Colleges Against Cancer and Co-Chair of Relay for Life at Fordham. “It really is true that everyone knows someone affected by cancer . . . so I think this is a great opportunity for Fordham to give back, and to give back in a big way.”
Dr. Gordon Klatt established Relay for Life in May 1985 when he circled the Baker Stadium track at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington for 24 hours in an effort to raise money for the fight against cancer. Klatt raised $27,000 that day, and 30 years later his efforts have spread across the country – Relay for Life has reached nearly $5 billion in fundraising.
The Fordham Relay for Life committee is one of many branches that has grown from Klatt’s walk back in 1985, and is full of students who are passionate about the cause, in large part because cancer has affected them.
“When I was in high school I found out that my uncle was diagnosed with lung cancer . . . and he passed away when I was a junior,” said Christina Giglio, FCRH ’15, President of Colleges Against Cancer and Co-Chair of Relay for Life at Fordham said. “Not long after, I found out that my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer and luckily, with the help of our family and the American Cancer Society, she is a survivor.”
Giglio, who will enter her ninth year of participating, also added she will continue her fight to end cancer after she leaves Fordham. “It’s something that I’m really passionate about and something I’m going to keep doing until there’s a cure.”
Brain Doty, FCRH ’16, Treasurer of Colleges Against Cancer at Fordham, has also lost numerous family members to battles against cancer. “I have one grandparent left and the other three have been taken because of cancer,” he said. This encouraged him to join Relay for Life and raise money for cancer. “It’s really a great way to make a difference and to help really everyone because everyone at some point is unfortunately going to be affected by this.”
Fordham Relay for Life is entering its seventh year and is looking to take big steps in 2015. Last year, 246 people signed up for Relay, and this year the Relay committee is looking for 350 people. There were also 25 new teams last year, bringing the total on campus to 45, and Relay is looking to add another ten this year. “The more the merrier, it’s always been the case,” Doty said. “Our biggest thing is we need to raise money. That’s fundamentally what we’re here for, and the more people we can spread that out amongst and the more people we have involved, the easier that will be and the more patients and survivors we can help.”
Fordham raised $30,000 last year and is looking to raise $40,000 this year. In order to do that, the committee has issued a Fall Semester Fundraising Challenge because most of Relay’s fundraising happens in the spring. The Fundraising Challenge encourages everyone who signed up for Relay to raise $100 before the fall semester’s end, and those who do will be placed in a raffle for gift certificates from places around Fordham and on Arthur Avenue. They also sold baked goods and held raffles at last night’s event to start the year’s donations.
Relay also announced the #EveryRamKnowsSomeone campaign in an effort to raise awareness for the cause on campus and, more importantly, to show the reason why people around the country participate in Relay for Life. Everyone at the kickoff was asked to post a picture of someone important to them who was affected with cancer and nominate three of their friends on campus to do the same in an effort to continue to spread awareness of Fordham’s Relay for Life and reach that $40,000 goal.
LaMagna thinks that the fundraising challenge and the #EveryRamKnowsSomeone campaign is going to greatly benefit this year’s fundraising. “Getting that awareness out as early as possible is really going to benefit us. It’s going to benefit the American Cancer Society and really just bring the whole community together,” she said.
The exact date for this year’s Relay for Life event at Fordham has not been set, but it will take place sometime in April on Eddie’s Parade for the second straight year. For more information on Fordham’s Relay for Life and how you can get involved or donate, like their page on Facebook, “Fordham University Relay for Life,” and follow them on Twitter, @Fordham_Relay.
__________
Anthony Pucik is the Sports Editor for The Fordham Ram.
