Relay for Life

Miranda Vaughan
March 17, 2010
Filed under News

People are fighting cancer everyday. It’s the second largest cause of death. More and more people die of cancer as each year comes and goes. Just in 2007, it was recorded that 7.9 million people died of cancer. That number is expected to increase to 11.5 million by the year 2030. Over 565,000 people die every year from cancer just in the United States. But there is a way to help those dealing with this disease.

Relay for Life is an all night event to raise money for people with cancer. It will be held this year at J. L. Mann on May 14-15^th. “Relay for Life basically is a celebration of life. It started 25-26 years ago because a guy decided that he wanted to fight cancer and raise money. So he said ‘I will run all night if someone sponsors me’, and since then the American Cancer Society has gotten into it.” says BMC Faculty Member Bill Smith. He feels strongly about fighting cancer and believes cancer patients deserve to be fought for.

Many people, just at BMC, have lost loved ones from cancer. “My Grandpa had cancer, and although he’s alright now, it kind of made me think that I should help out,” says Sophomore Jake Torres.

At Brashier, about 5 people have run the Relay for Life before, one of them being Lelia Rill. “My Grandfather died of Leukemia a couple years back and I thought it would be a good cause to fight back for him.” Says Junior Lelia Rill.

This event will raise money for cancer patients. It will start around 7pm, May 14^th, and end around 7am, May 15^th. If you would like to be involved in the Relay for Life, log on to www.relayforlife.org, click the “Sign Up” button, then click the “Join A Team” button. Once there, you join the Brashier team. Then fill out the information sheet. For more information contact BMC Faculty Member Bill Smith (Biology and Environmental Science teacher).