Some mourn. Some drown themselves in work. Some let time ebb the pain away.
Shawn Kelley fought back.
Kelley, an employee of the Health and Wellness Center, lost her mother to cancer, but she didn't turn away. For the past three years she has been the Johns Hopkins University staff adviser of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. The upcoming Relay will take place on April 8. On Nov. 30 of last year, she and students who had worked to organize Relay for Life in the past, as well as those who were interested in contributing, celebrated their kick-off organizational meeting.
Relay for Life is an event that honors cancer survivorship and community spirit. Each year, in 4,200 communities across the globe, more than 2.25 million supporters of the cause, including 460,000 cancer survivors, take part in this overnight celebration. In addition to recognizing the courage of survivors, Relay for Life raises funds that the American Cancer Society utilizes for research, education, advocacy and patient services. This year, however, Hopkins reveals a new weapon against the deadly disease: Colleges Against Cancer.
Nancy Tray, a committee chair of the Relay, said, "The community [of Baltimore] has always come in [for the event]. However, this year, the campus can be more involved."
About 20 students in blue jeans and T-shirts joined the kick-off celebration in the Glass Pavilion and seated themselves at round tables cloaked in purple vinyl cloths. Strewn across the tables were American Cancer Society T-shirts rolled and tied in purple ribbons, purple party favors, Blow-Pops wrapped in purple cellophane and Styrofoam cups filled with pink punch. It looked like a purple-themed New Year's party.
A movie projected on a white wall at the front of the room captured not only Relays around the nation, but the Relay that happened on the Hopkins campus last spring. The video depicted college students all over the nation rallying together, walking around racetracks, cheering on the event. They talked excitedly into the camera about what they had been doing to raise funds for the Relay.
Kiran Valiani, a junior who is also president of the Hopkins chapter, said, "My first year with Relay for Life, I actually just came to the event. I became interested and asked about how I could participate. They were looking for an event chair and I stepped up to the position, and me and Shawn have been together ever since." Colleges Against Cancer is a nationwide collaboration of college students, faculty and staff dedicated to wiping out cancer by initiating and supporting campus-based American Cancer Society programs.
Local chapters support four main areas: advocacy, cancer control, Relay for Life and Survivorship. Through these areas, students fight cancer throughout the seasons by coordinating anti-tobacco activities, spreading the word about cancer prevention and getting involved with survivors on a local level, expanding their efforts beyond planning Relay for Life.
A blond girl appeared in the video. She said that she and a friend simply went around the neighborhood collecting change. Another girl said that she held bake sales.
The movie concluded with shots of the Hopkins Relay and photos of Tray's fund-raising team. Their excited, smiling faces appeared with the Upper Quad in the backdrop. A photo, shot in the evening, of Gilman Hall steps also showed up. Lined up and down the marble steps were candles. They spelled four giant letters: H-O-P-E.
During the kick-off, Valiani explained the ways that students can raise funds. Last year, students participated in restaurant partnerships, in which restaurants donated a certain percentage of their profits to the Relay on a specified date. Other students sold baseball tickets.
Kelley illustrated another way of raising funds: purple magnets for cars. The purple magnets were created last spring and are shaped in the familiar form of ribbons. A student designed them, and they were a popular seller. Hopkins students raised over $32,000 last year in total.
Kelley says, "These [magnets] were so popular that people were actually stealing them. Can you imagine?"
Last year, the Hopkins Relay for Life event raised enough funds to claim the title of highest funds increase in the South-Atlantic division.
Kelley is amazed by the students at Hopkins and their unique dedication. She says that despite their busy schedules, exams and other extra-curriculars, students still make time to support Relay for Life, even if they are not a part of the organizational effort.
"The first time we did it, I thought only staff, faculty and professors were going to come out. But it was the exact opposite. So many students came out," Kelley said.
More than funds, Kelley praised the hands that join to make the event happen and the enthusiastic students who show up at Relay for Life.
Kelley said, "Our goal is really to bring [cancer survivors] in and treat them like royalty. It's just a way of spreading hope. People are surviving longer now, and it's all because of events like this."
