The University of Hartford Relay for Life season has kicked off, and although the event is not until April 2016, now is never too early to begin fundraising and gathering donations.
Relay for Life is a community-based fundraising event of the American Cancer Society with more than 5,000 events taking place worldwide. These events are held in local communities, especially on college and university campuses.
The University of Hartford has held Relay for Life events on campus many times in the past.
In just the past five years, they have raised over a total of $100,000, but the numbers have been dwindling in each of the recent years.
Last year’s Relay for Life event was held inside the Gengras Student Union due to problems with the weather. This resulted in a huge drop in the amount of money raised.
“People really like the element of being outside and hanging out with their friends. It’s all about the atmosphere,” Relay for Life advisor Kristy Severino said. “When it got moved inside, it kind of lost its luster.”
For this year, the UHart Relay for Life committee really wanted to push for raising a higher amount, closer to what they have been able to come up with in the past. The goal for this year’s event is to raise at least $24,000.
A major change to this year’s event is that it will be held Sunday night instead of it traditionally being on Fridays.
Also, instead of going all night and into the next morning, the event will be shorter and end early in the night.
The plan is for the event to be held April 24, 2016, from 1–8:30 p.m. on the Village Lawn.
For now, the committee is pushing hard for students, staff, faculty and the community to being signing up for teams and raising money.
Being that the University of Hartford is a relatively small school, senior Leah Pedrani hopes that the community can come together as one.
“You want other people to have birthdays. Imagine if this was you or your friend. Do you want to support your friend?” Pedrani said. “You’re walking for a good cause and it’s fun.”
Pedrani is also a member of the UHart Relay for Life committee representing the sororities of Greek Life.
“It’s a cause that affects every individual,” she continued. “I’m sure you know a friend or a parent that is battling with cancer. It’s just a nice thing to do as a community.”
The UHart Relay for Life committee will also be holding a fundraiser at Qdoba Mexican Grill at Bishop’s Corner next Tuesday, Nov. 24 from 4–9 p.m.
Proceeds of the sales will go toward the Relay for Life fundraising amount. For more information please contact the University of Hartford Relay for Life committee.