Relay For Life set for March 31

Get your tennis shoes ready for the 2019 Cornell College Relay For Life on Sunday, March 31.

The Civic Engagement Office and the student group Colleges Against Cancer are looking forward to seeing increased participation at this year’s event.

“This year is a rebuilding year for Relay,” said Colleges Against Cancer’s Lexi Woywod ’21. “We are focused on getting people involved, not only from Cornell but from the surrounding community. We’re really hoping that this can be an event that continues to unite us as a community with Mount Vernon and Lisbon.”

The group has shifted the timeframe of the event so that it’s shorter and earlier in the day. The event will be in the Small Multi-Sport Center from 1–5 p.m.

Woywod is doing a lot of work to plan the event. This is especially important to her after seeing her grandfather’s cancer journey. 

“Relay For Life is just a really good cause and something that’s really important to me,” Woywod said.

Relay For Life is a long-running activity on the Cornell College campus. While you can register as an individual, many participants register as a team. Registration takes place online, and all of the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society. The money helps in the fight against cancer through research, education, advocacy, and patient services. Cornell College started raising money toward its Relay for Life fundraising goals in late February through a pop-up bookstore project in Uptown Mount Vernon.

Throughout the event, team members walk around the track and participate in events such as the Luminaria Ceremony and the opening and closing Ceremony. Relay For Life has a tradition of bringing friends, families, and loved ones together to honor and celebrate those who have been affected by cancer. Cornell College’s Relay For Life received national recognition as Top Five Youth Per Capita in fundraising in 2008, 2009, and 2011.