Relay for Life is changing its location and time frame this year.
The event will be moved indoors on campus and last 12 hours rather than 24, according to the coordinators, seniors Betsy Corrigan and Stewart Burns. These changes have been made to ensure protection from inclement weather. The time frame has been shortened to make it easier on those involved to participate for the entire duration.
In 17 years of work at DePauw, Relay for Life has raised 2.3 million dollars for cancer patients. This money goes toward finding a cure, maintaining treatments, helping other patients get treatments, supplying medical transport, providing cosmetics and wigs to women who have undergone chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and implementing support systems between cancer survivors and current victims via a toll-free line, among many other endeavors. Though some of the money goes to the American Cancer Society, a large part of it goes back to the community.
As of February, Putnam County's Relay for Life is ranked seventh in the nation for raising the most amount money per capita.
At Relay for Life, participants are organized into teams that raise money. Teams are comprised of students and community members, with one person from each team walking the track for the entirety of the 12 hours.
"The event is a celebration and memorial, as well as an opportunity for more awareness," Burns said. "Every day, this is a closer fight and a closer solution to the cure. We want to keep it at the front of our minds, and we don't want to lose sight of it."
Students and faculty who help with Relay for Life are split into committees and subcommittees, but students who are unable to join can help in additional ways.
"Students should reach out to the committee to learn how they can help," said Dick Shuck, director of business services. "They can volunteer on the day of the event."
The theme this year is "Tune Out Cancer," catering to the students' and overall community's talents when it comes to music - be it "Rachmaninoff, rock 'n' roll or Led Zeppelin," Shuck said. A large component of Relay for Life's message is to integrate an audience comprised of the entire community - ranging from the College of Liberal Arts and School of Music students to people in the surrounding area.
"We want to bring together a couple thousand people in a fun, safe and friendly environment for a good cause," Corrigan said.
Relay for Life will be held on campus at the indoor tennis and track center on Saturday, April 27, from noon to midnight.
The committee's first fundraiser is a karaoke party that will take place on Saturday at The Fluttering Duck. Students and community members of all ages can attend. The committee holds various events throughout the year, many of them taking place in the spring semester.
The planning process for Relay for Life is year-round.
"The day this relay ends, we'll be planning next year's relay," Shuck said. "It's a continually evolving process, and we try to make it fun and educational. Relay for Life not only raises money but brings all of us together as a family trying to beat cancer and find the cure."
DePauw students can sign up for teams at Relayforlife.org/putnamcountyin/ or email relayforlife@depauw.edu.