Relay raises nearly $203,000

Author: Anthony Adragna

The College's fourth annual Relay for Life raised nearly $203,000 and brought over 1,000 walkers to the field behind Kenyon Arena to support the American Cancer Society (ACS) on April 20-21. The current total represents a 2.5 percent increase from last year, and is expected to rise up until the Aug. 15 fundraising deadline.

Organized by Co-chairs Alex Braunstein '09 and Chandler Koglmeier '09, the event benefits the ACS, which will use the money to fund scientists performing cancer research and to patient support programs. Braunstein said the fundraising dollars would continue to come in over the coming days raising the final total.

"Our final fundraising total, at the moment, is a little over $202,900, but we expect it to keep increasing in the next few weeks," she said. "Still, that makes this year's Relay the biggest fundraiser in the history of Middlebury College."

The College does exceedingly well at Relay when compared to other events at schools throughout New England. This year's walk will put them close to the top throughout New England. Currently, the Yale Relay for Life, held on April 14-15, had raised $211,000 as of April 16, making it the top fundraising Relay in the Northeast and the fifth nationally.

"Middlebury is a Relay gem," Braunstein said. "Youth and community Relays across the nation want to know what our secret is and how such a small school and community can be so successful. We are the number-one youth Relay per capita in the nation by a long shot, and again the top-10 county per capita in the nation."

Students, faculty, staff and community members began to gather around 2:00 p.m. Friday to set up for the event. Many teams brought tents so they could sleep close to the track where they would walk.

The 18-hour event officially began at 3:00 p.m., with teammates beginning the walk around the field in shifts that lasted throughout the night. With participants filtering in throughout the afternoon and night, organizers were uncertain of a final tally of walkers, but reported that the number topped at least 1,000. Braunstein said she was thrilled by the turnout from the event.

"I think we got extremely lucky with the weather this year, which helped our turnout," she said. "No one wants to be inside Kenyon [Arena] on the first real day of spring. The event ran so smoothly that I felt pretty useless a good amount of the time - our committee was on task and making it happen all night long. I don't know exactly how many people showed but my guess is around 1,000, maybe more during ceremonies."

The top individual fundraisers were Maura Casey '07, John Re and Jeremy Ward, with the top team fundraisers Dawn of A New Day, Life Science and Pirates of the Diamond all raising over $10,000.

Event organizers attempted to have a variety of activities that would interest walkers of all ages, such as theme laps and a kids' table. Student organizations helped provide entertainment at the event, with performances by such a capella groups as Stuck in the Middle and the Mamajamas and other performances from Dawn's Basement and Riddim.

Opening Ceremonies for the event began at 6:00 p.m. with speeches by President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and Cathy Trudel, a cancer survivor and member of the Relay team Brain Scramblers. Following the speeches came the Survivors Lap, with participating cancer survivors making their way around the track before being met and joined by their caretakers and the rest of the event participants.

At 9:00 pm. came the Luminaria Ceremony, when walkers completed a silent lap in remembrance of those who have died from cancer. Walkers lit candles in honor of the victims, and then watched a slideshow of those who have battled the disease.

"The most powerful part of Relay for me is always the silent lap of the Luminary Ceremony, when the word 'Hope' is lit up behind the hill and you can see over a thousand people walking the track with candles," said Braunstein. "Lighted bags line the track with the names and pictures of loved ones who have passed on from cancer. The silence is almost deafening - it's so eerie and yet incredibly beautiful."

Wendy Rodriguez '10 also commented on the powerful effect of the ceremony.

"I was very happy to see such student involvement and seeing such huge student turnout," she said. "The luminaria part of the night was very emotional and touching at the same time. I have never met anyone who's had cancer, no one in my family has had cancer, but I've heard the intensity of cancer so when I saw everyone crying around me, it really hit home that this is a reality."

Braunstein said the efforts of the College's student body impressed her immensely.

"When I saw kids from my dorm out on the Relay track at three in the morning on a Friday night, walking in the mud and 40-degree temperature, I felt immense pride in the Middlebury student body," she said. "Midd-kids truly rally for Relay. They make up more than half of our participant total and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the ACS every year. They give our event its energy and power. I can't even describe how proud I am to go to a school with people like that."

Kelsey Bakas '10 reiterated Braunstein's comments.

"I thought it was great and well-run. It's the first time I've ever participated so it was very moving," she said. "Even though it was just walking, you were out supporting any way you can and getting out and raising money. It was kind of overwhelming to see how many individuals had been afflicted by it. It was really something to see all the light and the candles and the upbeat music. It would have been nicer if more students could have spent the night. But overall I thought the student core was great."

While the College supports the event greatly, Braunstein hopes they will some day create a paved track for the event.

"It would be great if the school paved us our own Relay track so we don't have to worry about destroying athletic field," she said. "I think as long as we keep bringing in new leadership and volunteers, the event will grow on its own."