Students were in motion around the clock in the West Gym on SFU’s Burnaby campus to raise funds and awareness for the Canadian Cancer Society.
The annual event took place from 7 p.m. on Friday, March 6, 2015 to 7 a.m. the following morning, and students and members of the SFU community raised $18,666 this year, as of press time. Donations are still being accepted, and that number is still rising.
Over the past seven years, SFU has raised over $200,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society.
Event attendees raised money and pledges in teams and walked, ran, or wheeled around the track for the duration of the 12 hour event. Attendee Jenna Gigantelli enjoyed the event, saying, “it was wonderful being there with my friends, because we all stepped up together to show our support.”
The event also involved a number of other activities, including a photo booth, sumo wrestling, zumba, live music played throughout the night, and a pancake breakfast in the morning.
Brooke Sherwood, the team lead for community giving for the Canadian Cancer Society’s Greater Vancouver region, explained the importance of the Society’s work within the community.
“Not only is [the society] a funder of research, it also provides a lot of support programs that can’t be funded by the government,” she said. “There are a lot of missing links that people on a cancer journey require, and the society raises money to support them.”
The Canadian Cancer Society not only funds research projects, but also runs a pediatric camp for children and their families in Maple Ridge. Called Camp Good Times, the centre provides low-cost or free lodging for cancer patients and their loved ones, near cancer treatment centres across the province. Through this support, they aim to enable everyone to fight their cancer, no matter their financial situation.
At 11 p.m, attendees participated in ‘Laps of Remembrance,’ when each attendee was encouraged to decorate a luminary in support or memory of someone who fought or is fighting cancer.
The track was lit by the luminaries, and laps were done in the dark, while “Hallelujah” was played and a dancer performed below the track amongst luminaries spelling out “hope.”
Gigantelli explained that the memorial meant a lot to her, as her dad is a cancer survivor. “The whole time, all I could really do was be so thankful my dad is still with me, and reflect on what it would have been like if his luminary was a memorial one,” she said.
When asked what she intended to accomplish that night, Sherwood said, “We hope that [the event] brings meaning. The reality is, if we were to ask everyone in the room if they know someone who’s had cancer or is on the cancer journey, unfortunately the vast majority of people would put their hands up.”
