On June 19, hundreds of Luminaria lined the walking path at Riverside Park casting a soft ethereal glow into the night for Ypsilanti’s Relay for Life Survivor Celebration. Luminaria are small candlelit personally decorated bags with the names of people who have faced cancer. The $10 spent for each bag to be made all goes to the American Cancer Association’s fight against cancer.
“People walk around very respectful reading the names [on the Luminaria],” said cancer survivor Peggy Harless.
Harless is a Team EMU member as well as EMU’s assistant director of Diversity and Community Involvement.
Team EMU 2010 also consisted of Michelle Owens, Teri Papp, Martha Costa, Kay Woodiel, Molly Weir, Sherry Spencer, Trish Molloy, Ramona Milligan, Glenna Miller, Wendy Kivi, Michael Dailey and Arthetus Abraham.
“It’s very moving. It’s ‘Oh my gosh, all these people have died or gone through treatment,’ ” Harless said. “My favorite part [of Relay for Life] is probably the Luminaria Ceremony.”
The 24-hour event started at 10 a.m. where local teams helped raise funds for cancer research. Registered walkers from different teams walked on the Riverside Park track in a relay format. Walkers would take turns on the track in one-hour increments for 24 hours straight as a symbol of their support of finding cures for cancer.
Matt Jones, EMU communications major who helped Team EMU in preparing and setting up, said, “Conversation keeps me going on the track at 3 a.m. At EMU Relay for Life, you have a group and the most in-depths conversations I’ve had are just walking on the track. It makes the time go by fast, because it can very repetitive if you’re walking around in a circle for an hour to two hours straight.”
“It’s a good time for reflection on why you are doing this,” said Harless. “Last year, I had a friend going through treatment. It gave me time to just think her and what she was going through. Sometimes in life you get carried away with doing all the things you have to do, this [walking] affords you a time to do what you want to do.”
Team EMU, winner of last year’s Spirit Award, was awarded their own port-a-potty, which they decorated and nicknamed “Team EMU’s Golden Throne”, as well as first pick of booth site. A team is awarded spirit points based on many factors including number of Luminaria sold and participation in events before and during the Survivor Celebration.
This year, Team EMU raised $2825, falling short of their $5000 goal. Out of the 33 teams that participated this year, Team EMU placed third behind Aubree’s and Mission Possible: Normal Park Neighbors for a Cure.
“I will continue year round to fight back,” said Costa, one of Team EMU’s captains and Relay for Life committee member. “My goal personally is to stay in touch with my relay colleagues for next year’s event, also encourage people to get educated [on cancer].”
Team EMU hosted a silent auction during the event to help meet their goal with goodie bags donated from a variety people and businesses like the five iPods donated by TCF’s on-campus bank. Other teams, like A2 Connection, an Ann Arbor social group, decorated bras with feathers, stones and beads and sold them for $15.
There used to be one major Relay for Life Celebration held on the EMU campus for both EMU and Ypsilanti before the ACS decided to move it to Riverside Park five years ago to have it be more accessible to the Ypsilanti community. EMU has its own Relay for Life where a major difference between the two events is the atmosphere.
“I’m seeing an older crowd,” said Jones. “It’s a lot more community based where Eastern Michigan’s Relay for Life, you get some crazy antics for raising money. Stuff happens, but it’s all in good fun. It hits on a more personal level [for me]. It’s crazy to know that a 22–year-old is a cancer survivor.”
According to Beth LaVasseur, Service Delivery Leader at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, when talking to someone who has cancer, “The most important thing to do is acknowledge you know what they are going through must be tough and if you want to talk you are there for them.”
“Treatment sucked big-time,” said Harless. “At the time, it was horrible. The day I wrote my own funeral was the day I came to grips with it. It [cancer] taught me to value time. It taught me to say things and not just wish it. It taught me not to waste my time and not let other people waste my time.”
There are 11 million cancer survivors living in America today. There are still millions in America fighting to survive and endure medication and radiation treatments. LaVasseur said the biggest challenge is fighting fatigue.
“I relay so that someday my kids don’t have to hear those words, ‘You’ve got cancer’ ” said Costa. “A lot of people don’t realize there is somebody there for them. No one should ever feel they are alone. The American Cancer Society as an organization can get people any kind of help they need about information, services and support groups. There is so much to be known in the community about what is out there for us.”
For more information on how to get involved with Team EMU, log onto http://main.acsevents.org/sit.
