Relay for Life is an annual event held all over the world to raise money for cancer research while celebrating survivors. “We all had a reason to Relay,” said Susannah Jones, President of the James Madison University Chapter of Sigma Alpha Lambda. “We have several members who know someone that was affected by cancer or have been diagnosed themselves.” JMU was one of 65 SAL chapters that participated in Relay for Life all over the country this year. From these chapters, 523 SAL members participated!
Chapters raised money ahead of time by asking family and friends to donate and by holding fundraisers. The Purdue University Chapter held a Skip-A-Meal fundraiser at Buffalo Wild Wings, the University of South Florida Chapter held a “Date Auction” and the Youngstown State University Chapter held a bake sale on campus.
On the night of the Relay, teams set up a booth on the track where they raise money in a variety of creative ways. The San Diego State University Chapter had a recycling station to collect empty water bottles while raising money. The Arizona State University Chapter challenged people to play a game of WAR against an officer for a donation.
The SAL National Office sent two of their staff members, Nikki Donato and Jenna Brussee, to the University of South Florida to participate in Relay for Life with the chapter there. They had a great time getting to know the officers while helping them raise money by selling cupcakes.
Several SAL teams achieved great things at their Relay. The University of Kansas Chapter was the top fundraising team at their school. The Florida State University Chapter won an award for being the “Most Spirited Team.” The FSU team was also joined by Co-VP of Membership Laura Bennett’s mother, who is an eleven year ovarian cancer survivor and a two year breast cancer survivor. It was a huge inspiration to the team to have a survivor with them as a way to put a face on what they were working toward accomplishing.
This year was a huge success for Sigma Alpha Lambda, exceeding our goals and beating our previous fundraising records. As a whole, our chapters raised $32,720!
Top SAL Fundraising Teams:
Over $3000:
- Rowan University
- University of Kansas
Over $1000:
- University of Georgia
- Texas State University
- University of North Carolina Charlotte
- Ohio State University
- Florida State University
- Illinois State University
- Emporia State University
Over $800:
- Montclair State University
- James Madison University
Top 5 Individual Fundraisers:
- Alyssa Clements, Rowan University: $1540.60
- Leah Charles, University of Kansas: $1322.52
- Hayes Burrow, University of Georgia: $1030
- Janna Robinson, Ohio State University: $732
- Alexa Angrisani, Rowan University: $690
Visit the official Relay for Life website by clicking here to learn how you can get involved in a Relay near you!
