Danielle Tanacredi and Joshua Maxwell are both on the verge of graduation, but the students share more than the imminent prospect of collecting a well-deserved diploma. As members of FAU’s 5th Annual Relay for Life committee, their passion for the cause is fueled by personal experience with a devastating disease. Maxwell’s mother is a cancer survivor; Tanacredi’s mother lost her battle on Oct. 25, 2006.
This Friday, April 11, hundreds of participants will fill the Henderson School soccer field to take part in Relay for Life, a national event sponsored by the American Cancer Society (ACS) to raise awareness about the disease.
Starting at 4:30 p.m. and running until 8:30 a.m. the following morning, Tanacredi explained the relay events are held overnight to represent the fact that “cancer never sleeps.”
Events like this take place in communities all over the world, raising funds to support cancer patients and their families.
“It’s a time and place where people come to celebrate those who have survived cancer, remember those we’ve lost, and fight back against a disease that touches too many lives,” said Tanacredi. “Another important thing is that this money goes to support services that ACS offers.”
According to Tanacredi, as well as funding cancer research and education, the ACS offers many essential services to cancer patients and their families, supporting them through what is already a physically, financially and emotionally grueling time.
In fact, all of this year’s committee are FAU students whose lives have been touched by the disease. Joshua Maxwell, this year’s logistics chairperson, emphasized just how many lives have been affected by the disease.
“One thing we always do [at these events] is when we’re in a group of people we ask who’s been affected by cancer,” Maxwell said, adding that many people are affected without realizing it. “Whether it’s a loved one or a friend’s parent, someone they know will be touched by cancer – everyone’s been affected somehow.”
Relay for Life events (see sidebar) feature teams of about 10 to 15 people who set up booths, take turns doing laps throughout the night and participate in on-site fundraising. Booths are decorated in accordance with the theme of the event. This year, it’s TV shows.
Tanacredi, the committee’s team recruitment chair, said teams can receive awards for things like most money raised, best on-site cuisine, or most creative booth. The teams can raise money by enlisting corporate sponsors or selling anything from baked goods to a five-minute massage.
This year’s committee has garnered the support of FAU groups including the Zeta Phi chapter of Delta Sigma Pi and Owl Radio, who will be DJing throughout the event. “As soon as they called, we said we’d be there; I think that cause is a big one to support,” said Marc Hoffenberg, Owl Radio promotions director. “I’m going to keep the party going all night.”
At 8:30 p.m., the lights will dim with the start of the luminary ceremony and dozens of lit candles across the field will spell out the word “hope.”
“We honor the people who have faced cancer first hand,” Tanacredi said of the ceremony and the survivor’s lap around the field. “And we remember those who have been lost to the disease.”
Tanacredi has been involved in relay events since high school and has been a committee member for three years.
“There are cures and we’re learning more about them every day,” she said. “I just think it’s important to get the message out.”