Relay for Life committee holds rally to promote spring event

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By Andrew Tow

Working together, seniors Johannes Seberger, Jessie Coleman and Kate Backes were crucial members in the preparation for the purple bomb and Relay for Life rally held on Friday, Jan. 11. "We wanted people to come [to the rally] and get more excited and have an idea of what happens at relay," said Backes.

The Relay for Life committee held a rally on Friday, January 11 during seminar to build excitement for the event, which will take place on Friday, March 29 through Saturday, March 30.

The goal of the committee, according to senior committee chair Kate Backes, was to elevate the excitement of those interested in participating.

“We were hoping to increase the amount of participants we had from last year,” Backes said. “In previous years, the rally has been very informational and I feel like it had been kind of boring for some people, so by making it revolve around games and fun activities and prizes, people kind of get a chance to see what Relay is actually about.”

The rally had activities similar to those held at Relay for Life, with games that let participants win prizes or slices of pizza. While some technical difficulties hampered the event, it was ultimately successful for junior Lauren O’Neil.

“I liked how they brought the games on there, like ‘heads or tails’ and ‘Plinko,’” Lauren said. “I thought that was really cool and the fact you could win prizes was really fun.”

Senior Lindsay O’Neil believes that Relay offers something for everyone to enjoy.

“It’s the best of both worlds, because you’re guaranteed to have a good time, there’s lots of ways you can get involved, there’s stuff for everybody,” Lindsay said. “The icing on top of that cake is that it’s also for a really really good cause and you’re not just helping cancer patients in general, but a lot of them you know personally, so you’re connected to it.”

American Cancer Society representative Amie Walter felt the school as a whole is enthusiastic about Relays, and the rally showed that.

“I think the excitement is bigger here and for a larger population of students than at a lot of schools. It’s just a really good school and a good group of teachers,” Walter said. “Everyone is just really supportive and you don’t see that everywhere.”

Backes felt the rally was a great way to bring Relay to the community’s attention.

“We had a really good turnout, and the crowd was really supportive despite our technical difficulties,” Backes said.

Students can sign up for Relay for Life during lunch starting Monday, January 14.