On April 19th, the RIT Rotaract Club, a Rotary-affiliated student organization, will hold RIT’s first Relay for Life at the Gordon Field House. The event is designed to raise money and awareness for cancer research and treatment.

“It’s all about awareness and spreading the word about it,” said Gary Wolyn, coordinator of the Relay for Life, President of the Rotaract Club, and a second year Marketing major. Wolyn described that money would be raised by teams or individuals. After raising the money, teams are invited to participate in the relay event, a walking vigil.

“It’s not a race at all. People are walking the whole night…taking turns walking and showing support,” Wolyn noted. The relay is expected to last from 7 p.m to 8 a.m, lasting through the night. Other events will be taking place throughout the evening, including a Halo tournament sponsored by the Electronic Gaming Society and a bone marrow drive. There will be three different ceremonies throughout the night. Wolyn hopes to have President Destler speak at the Luminary ceremony and the closing ceremony.

The Luminary ceremony, Wolyn said, involves lighting candles and placing them in bags with messages written on them to honor survivors and those lost to cancer. It will take place at midnight.

Tess Mandell, second year Software Engineering major and secretary of the Society of Software Engineers (SSE), is heading a team for the relay. Beyond individual fundraising, the team will also be putting on a “Bingo for the Cure” event to raise money. Mandell, whose mother is currently battling cancer, has been passionate about the relay since high school.

“The best way to [raise money] is to send letters to people that you know,” said Mandell. “Hopefully, as a team, we’ll finish with about $3000.” The SSE team currently has 10 members, who will be participating in the bingo event. The event, scheduled to take place on April 18th at 3 p.m. in 70-1620, is expected to draw a small crowd and raise about $100. “There will be free food and prizes from places like Microsoft and Kodak… big prizes,” said Mandell, noting that the event is open to anyone who is interested. The donations that teams receive will be given to the American Cancer Society to pay for cancer research, patient care, education, and other cancer related causes. Participants will be given t-shirts at the door, and will be provided with food throughout the night. Teams can register online at www.events.cancer.org/rflritny or at the door on the 19th.