With one day left before Relay For Life begins, citizens of Putnam county and the DePauw community have raised more than half of their $157,000 fundraising goal. Putnam County's 15th annual Relay For Life begins noon Saturday and continues through the night until Sunday afternoon. Relay For Life, the signature fund-raising event for the American Cancer Society, occurs all over the nation, and the Putnam County Relay will consist of various games, races, performances, food and ceremonies.
"We've been working on getting ready for Relay For Life since the last one ended," said senior and event co-chair Tyler Archer. "It's a long process."
All events, whether locally or nationally hosted, are designed to support and raise money for cancer research. They also intend to provide good entertainment and draw in those who otherwise might not participate in Relay.
"There is a lot that goes on the day of relay," Archer said. "There are a lot of events that Relay For Life as a national event hosts but we also reach out to a lot of local entertainment groups. Most of what we do is geared towards supporting the mission of Relay."
In the case of rain, the events will not be affected, but simply be relocated to the Indoor Track and Tennis Center.
The 977 participants, organized into 92 teams, have been raising money to reach this year's goal.
As of Bank Night—when all teams turn in money and donations are calculated — the teams had raised just over $80,000, almost double the amount raised at this time last year, $44,000.
"We are really excited about meeting and possibly exceeding the goal this year," Archer said. "There are a lot of people that come out and there is a lot of money that they are willing to put towards this cause because it is such a universal cause."
Relay For Life provides an opportunity for the DePauw and Greencastle communities to combine in support of a common cause. At any peak during the event, roughly 3,000 people may be be in attendance, a fact that demonstrates the support of both students and Putnam County residents.
Biochemistry professor Jackie Roberts is the co-sponsor and captain of the team "Cool Profs" and said the strong participation of the entire community, in and outside of DePauw, is one of her favorite parts of Relay.
"That is one of my pitches to get people involved: the fact that this is one of the greatest events in terms of students and the community coming together." she said. "This one is really a lot of fun."
Community co-chair Dick Shuck is also very confident in the event's ability to bring diverse people together.
"There are no barriers of age, sex, ethnic background…everyone has been touched by cancer in some form or fashion whether they are a survivor, caregiver, or just a friend," Shuck said. "Here is a mixing and blending of children, college students, adults, seniors and everybody is just here to support the cause of finding the cure."