“The University of Akron will host the American Cancer Society event Relay for Life later this month. On April 20, students from all over campus will participate in the fundraiser with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society for cancer research. The event organizers are hoping even more students will sign up.”
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The University of Akron will host the American Cancer Society event Relay for Life later this month. On April 20, students from all over campus will participate in the fundraiser with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society for cancer research.

The event organizers are hoping even more students will sign up.

Relay for Life is an overnight event designed to bring community members together, especially those whose lives have been impacted by cancer. It will be the first Relay for Life event UA has ever hosted.

Jodi Schwaben is the co-founder of the student organization Akron CARES (Cancer Awareness Research Education Services). The organization is responsible for bringing Relay for Life to Akron. She feels it is an important event for anyone and everyone to take part in, whether they have been touched by cancer or not.

Our goal is to raise $40,000 for the American Cancer Society and to raise awareness for cancer research and our organization Akron CARES, Schwaben said. I want this organization to be a continual success long after I’m graduated.

The University of Akron’s Relay for Life is different from most relay events. The event’s theme is board games, and each team will have to somehow represent the game they have chosen. There will be other forms of entertainment such as movies and music. A Battle of the Bands will also take place. There will also be a segment called the Luminaria where participants walk a lap while holding a lit candle in honor of those who have lost the battle to cancer.

Thus far, 18 teams have registered for the relay, with team size ranging from 15 to 30 people. The teams range from many fraternities and sororities on campus to a team of members from the campus radio and TV station, WZIP-FM and ZTV.

Ashley Hendrix, a member of the WZIP/ZTV team, says that Relay for Life has always been an important part of her life.

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 6-years old. Luckily she survived, and my family has been involved with Relay ever since.

Hendrix said she is very excited to participate in the relay and it is far from her first walk around the track.

A lot of counties in Ohio only do one Relay for Life, so I think it’s really great that the University of Akron took the initiative to host its own, she said.

Relay for Life at the University of Akron will be held April 20 and 21 at Lee Jackson Field. For more information about how to get involved with the event or how to donate, go to www.acsevents.com/relay/oh/ua, or e-mail Akron CARES at [email protected].

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