Waynesburg University will partner with the American Cancer Society for its annual “Mini Relay for Life” event Sunday, April 15, which will take place in Johnson Commons at 9 a.m.
Kelly Hardie, assistant dean of student services, has coordinated the event for 13 of her 15 years working at Waynesburg.
Last year, the goal of the event was to raise $15,000, and the university exceeded that total. According to Hardie, this year’s objective is slightly higher, at $16,000. Hardie said the biggest factor that will determine the day’s success is something that neither she or anybody else can control.
“It depends upon, I’ll just be honest, weather,” Hardie said. “The nicer the day, the more people we have come and support the event… On [a bad weather day,] the total’s not going to be nearly as much [as it would] if it was a gorgeous, 68-degree day. Weather definitely plays a huge factor in the event because that’s when the majority of the teams fundraise toward their goal.”
Of the factors Hardie can determine, she said something that will be emphasized this year, compared to past years, is reaching out to more local cancer survivors.
“We virtually doubled the amount of invitations we sent out to local survivors within the Greene County area,” she said. “We’ve been asking captains to talk to their teams about inviting family members and friends. So, we’ve been getting a number of emails from cancer survivors who are brand new that have never been to our Relay for Life event before who are willing to come.”
The theme for this year’s event is Dr. Seuss, and each team will represent a Seuss book, such as “Horton Hears a Who!”
In total, there will be 22 teams represented at the event, each raising money for a different form of cancer. The captains have been preparing for this coming Sunday since October, when they had their first meeting. Since then, they’ve been getting together on a monthly basis and updating Hardie on their progress. The captains were selected by their specific groups. Junior criminal justice major Patrick Hager is a co-captain for the track/cross country team’s group, along with seniors Brittany Faust and Marla Holland. The team’s goal is to raise $1,000 towards brain cancer.
Hager has been personally affected by cancer. In 2014, his uncle passed away from melanoma. For Hager— who plans on returning as a captain next year— the event will give an opportunity for him to contribute in making sure that others aren’t affected by the disease the way he was.
“Ever since [my uncle passed away], it’s always been a special kind of thing for me to always try to help out with cancer,” Hager said. “Just to make sure other people don’t have to go through the same thing [in the future].”
One of the challenges for Hardie in partnering with the American Cancer Society is the turnover in leadership on their end. 26-year-old Dillon Spencer, commu nity development manager a graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, is the fourth coordinator since the partnership began. Hardie is excited about what Spencer brings to the table.
“He’s been fantastic to work with,” Hardie said. “He volunteered as a high school student, so he’s very passionate about the cause and understands our students and where they’re coming from.”
A lot has changed since Hardie started working at Waynesburg in July of 2003. One of the biggest upgrades of fundraising, according to Hardie, is social media, which allows for a higher quantity of donors.
“Technology is a huge change,” she said. “When I first started working for Relay for Life, students fundraised through cookie sales, bake sales and penny wars. Now, everything is virtually online. Students can create an online fundraising page and share that [on] Facebook. So their friends from out of state and their family members from far away can actually donate toward their team.”
Above all else, Hardie hopes Sunday will provide an opportunity for students to enjoy themselves, while also giving them a chance to be educated on a deadly disease.
“My main hope is just to promote awareness about cancer education and cancer research,” Hardie said. “In addition to that, my hope is always to honor the survivors, because that’s what the event is all about is providing them with hope, and then showing them. This is such an amazing event that brings our campus together, and I just love to see all the clubs, the organizations, the residence halls, the athletic teams, come together to serve a cause. And I think that speaks to our mission here at Waynesburg.”