On Saturday, May 21st, Wayne Township came together to honor and support a wonderful cause: Relay for Life, a student-run organization that raises money for cancer awareness. This year, it tackled another challenge—connecting the community back together after two years of virtual events. 

This year, Relay for Life was hosted on Wayne Valley’s football field. Each participant joins a team and one member from each team must be walking the track at all times (from 2pm to 2am the following morning). Both before and during the event, teams engage in various fundraising efforts. This year, supporters came to get their steps in and participate in many fun activities along the way: from pie eating to Kan Jam to Spike Ball, there were no dull moments. The all-day event also featured ceremonies dedicated to honoring cancer victims, survivors, and current fighters.

The magic of the event is entirely coordinated by high school students. One of Relay’s co-leads, Taylor Smith, is a Wayne Valley senior. Smith, along with the other co-leads and co-chairs, conducted most of the planning and budgeting. She states, “The biggest thing was making sure that we had all of our logistics set, like the schedule of the event and how we were going to make every step happen.” To facilitate the event, there is a committee consisting of about eighty students from both Wayne Valley and Wayne Hills. Some of these students are team captains, which, according to Smith, have important jobs as well: “If you’re a team captain, you’re in charge of getting your team their shirts and making sure they all have raised $100 in order to stay over for the event.” As for the guests, their responsibilities are quite simple: “As a regular participant, you just have to make sure you’re listening to your team captains and you’ll be all ready for the event.”

The Relay for Life organization has also hosted other fundraisers throughout the year.  A majority of these were food fundraisers at restaurants such as Outback, Chipotle, and Panera Bread. In addition, the committee is currently planning a Relay Recess at JFK Elementary School, as they had done in past years.

The organization hopes to raise and donate $100,000. So far, a total of about $91,000 has been received, and donations are still being accepted online. We are so proud of everyone who participated in Relay for Life, and we anticipate the success of the event in years to come.