Amidst the busy schedules occupying the lives of the Case Western Reserve University community, the campus was well represented at the 2012 Relay For Life. Last weekend was the culmination of months of planning and organizing, as Relay For Life at CWRU took place beginning on Saturday, April 21. The event brought food, fun, and volunteers to the field behind the Village at 115 and earned an attendance of over 1,000 people.

Relay For Life is a national organization that hosts hundreds of walks across the country every year in support of the American Cancer Society. Relay money is allocated to a variety of sources beyond cancer research including programs such as Hope Lodge and the Road to Recovery. The Hope Lodge gives cancer patients and their families a place to stay while they are receiving cancer treatment. Frequently, cancer patients are too far away from cancer treatment centers, and find themselves with little money for long-range transportation. The Road to Recovery is a program that helps cancer patients get to their treatment, by pairing them with someone to take them to therapy sessions.

Eight hundred and sixty nine people registered to participate in this year’s event, and 67 teams consisted of more than 60 people. Many student organizations and departments across the university participated, and their volunteers walked the track at all hours of the day and night.

In a previous interview with Dr. Amy Wilson-Delfosse, a top fundraiser for CWRU Relay and this year’s Honorary Chair, said, “The power in this event comes from the breadth and the sheer number of people who participate. It’s really inspiring to see so many walking.”

She continued, “It’s really difficult for me to describe what it meant to be asked to serve as the honorary chair. I was just really shocked and stunned that they wanted me.”