The West Gym hosted SFU’s sixth annual Relay for Life, lasting 12 consecutive hours, from 7:00p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on March 21 to 22. The charity event saw approximately 380 people, with 42 teams, as well as more than 30 volunteers.
Relay for Life (RFL) is an event organized entirely by students. According to Eve Mitchell, RFL youth coordinator, the fundraising target of $33,000 was exceeded before the night had even started, reaching $48,000 and counting. Proceeds will go to the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) to fund research, prevention initiatives, and care services for people affected by cancer.
RFL aims to bring communities together in universities and high schools across Canada in a fun and festive way, while raising awareness around cancer prevention.
As team members took part in turn in the relay — walking or running laps for the duration of the event — a number of activities were scheduled throughout the night, partly to keep participants awake.
This year at SFU, as participant Norman Krismantara-Cheng told The Peak, “People were playing around, doing yoga, [listening to] two bands, trying to have fun.” Participants were also fed and able to decorate luminaries against cancer.
The fundraising target of $33,000 had been exceeded before it even started, reaching $48,000 and counting.
“The theme of the event changes every year, and actually I think this is the first year that SFU has done a theme, [superheroes against cancer],” said Mitchell. She continued, “I think it’s really nice because it’s that extra bit of fun; everyone loves dressing up so it gives them something to rally around.” She added that the costumes she saw were the best she had seen at a relay event, setting a high bar for next year.
At around midnight, participants joined for a solemn walk in the dark to remember cancer victims in what turned out to be a very emotional moment for some. However, there were also merrier moments, such as the survivors’ victory lap.
Ayla Kooner, co-chair of the organizing committee and a health sciences major, is one such survivor. Diagnosed at 12 with Ewing’s sarcoma, a bone cancer, she underwent a heavy year-long treatment involving both chemotherapy and radiation.
This year, she will celebrate her 10 years in remission. Kooner told The Peak, “The thing that people don’t understand about being a survivor is that you are forever living with the consequences of [your cancer]. [. . .] There are long-term side effects of chemotherapy we kind of all have to live through, and I will have to be going for check-ups for the rest of my life.”
The relay is SFU’s longest-running university event. “I think it started as a res event, so there was a really good awareness of getting people together, creating that community spirit, and also promoting health awareness,” Mitchell explained. The RFL involves teams of up to 15 people fundraising for the CCS, both individually and as a team.
One of the key programs funded is Camp Goodtimes at Loon Lake in Maple Ridge, where children and their families can go to forget about cancer treatments. It’s a place that, for Kooner, “puts your faith back into humanity.”
“One thing I would hope [participants] learned is that the fight against cancer is far from over,” Kooner concluded. “I hope that they take away how important life and time really are. [Anyone] could be diagnosed with a life-threatening disease like cancer tomorrow, so you better make the time you have count.”
