WESTERN'S INAUGURAL RELAY
FOR LIFE EARNS THOUSANDS

CULLOWHEE -- The inaugural Relay for Life at Western (April 11-12) attracted hundreds of students, staff, faculty and alumni for a chilly 12-hour event that raised $9000 for the fight against cancer. The Relay began at 7:00 on Friday night and lasted until 7:00 on Saturday morning, with temperatures on campus dipping toward the freezing mark before dawn. The event lasted all night in a symbolic effort to show that cancer does not sleep; it does not stop for rain, and it does not stop when one is tired, explained Heather Kasey, a senior who helped to organize the Relay with other Western students.

“For me, she said, “cancer meant losing my mom when I was five years old. For others, cancer takes on additional faces. Either way,” she continued, “we need to find a cure and educate the students, faculty and the WCU family in the means of prevention and early detection” of cancer.

Relay for Life organizers and participants, who included teams from a variety of campus organizations, clubs, and sports teams, sold luminaria in memory of cancer victims and walked laps in honor of those who have battled cancer. All proceeds went to the American Cancer Society.

According to Ms. Kasey, a planning committee is already working on the Relay for next year with a goal of raising $20,000.