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PLU and UPS join forces
March 02, 2007
PLU and the University of Puget Sound have teamed up to host a Relay for Life event on April 20 and 21 at the university track.
Registration is currently underway, and participants who register by March 9 are guaranteed to receive a free Relay for Life T-shirt.
“These are more like badges of honor than they are generically-sized cotton,” said Liz Lamb-Ferro, co-chair of the relay’s planning committee.
UPS and PLU decided to team up after some gentle nudging by Allison Stephens, assistant director of Student Involvement and Leadership, and the American Cancer Society. UPS couldn’t hold the event at their track due to an agreement with the City of Tacoma to refrain from holding all-night events because of noise issues.
“Ironically, the entire concept of Relay for Life was started in 1985 at the UPS track,” Lamb-Ferro said.
The Relay for Life was created in the mid-1980s by a Tacoma doctor named Gordy Klatt. In an effort to raise money for his local American Cancer Society office, he ran more than 83 miles over a 24-hour period on the track in Baker Stadium at UPS. Throughout the night, his friends paid $25 to run or walk with him for 30 minutes, raising $27,000.
The two universities decided to create a combined relay event so both could hold relays. More importantly, the schools realized the expanded marketability of the event to potential sponsors and the opportunity to capitalize on the rivalry between the two schools by making it a fund-raising competition, Lamb-Ferro explained.
This year’s relay will be the second one hosted by PLU. At the inaugural relay last May, students, faculty and staff raised $42,000, surpassing the original goal of $30,000.
The planning committee has high hopes for this year’s PLU relay participants, setting a fund raising goal of $50,000 with 50 teams of 10 people participating. Lamb-Ferro said both goals are attainable. Last year, 50 teams participated. If the number of teams remains constant and each member of a 10-person team gives $10, the fund raising goal will be reached, she explained.
Lamb-Ferro said registering to participate in the event is easy. Simply go to www.acsevents.org/relay/wa/plu, and look for a link on the left-hand side that takes you step-by-step through the process. Participants can either register a new team of 10 people or join an existing team.
The event begins at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 20. Each registered team must have at least one person walking around the track for the full 24 hours of the event, with the relay ending at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 21. Performers from both UPS and PLU will entertain participants.
After last year’s successful event, PLU was named the Top Rookie Relay in the Great West Division and was a recipient of the Top 10 Per Capita Award at the national level.
“That kind of success on a small campus such as ours works not only to promote the university itself, but also serves to increase community involvement,” Lamb-Ferro said. “We're always talking about breaking down the ‘Lute Dome’ mentality, and hosting Relay For Life provides us with the opportunity to do that.”
According to the American Cancer Society, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, and half of all men and one third of all women in the country will develop the disease during their lifetimes.
To learn more about the relay, how you can participate, or how to donate or join a team, contact plurelay@plu.edu.
“These are more like badges of honor than they are generically-sized cotton,” said Liz Lamb-Ferro, co-chair of the relay’s planning committee.
UPS and PLU decided to team up after some gentle nudging by Allison Stephens, assistant director of Student Involvement and Leadership, and the American Cancer Society. UPS couldn’t hold the event at their track due to an agreement with the City of Tacoma to refrain from holding all-night events because of noise issues.
“Ironically, the entire concept of Relay for Life was started in 1985 at the UPS track,” Lamb-Ferro said.
The Relay for Life was created in the mid-1980s by a Tacoma doctor named Gordy Klatt. In an effort to raise money for his local American Cancer Society office, he ran more than 83 miles over a 24-hour period on the track in Baker Stadium at UPS. Throughout the night, his friends paid $25 to run or walk with him for 30 minutes, raising $27,000.
The two universities decided to create a combined relay event so both could hold relays. More importantly, the schools realized the expanded marketability of the event to potential sponsors and the opportunity to capitalize on the rivalry between the two schools by making it a fund-raising competition, Lamb-Ferro explained.
This year’s relay will be the second one hosted by PLU. At the inaugural relay last May, students, faculty and staff raised $42,000, surpassing the original goal of $30,000.
The planning committee has high hopes for this year’s PLU relay participants, setting a fund raising goal of $50,000 with 50 teams of 10 people participating. Lamb-Ferro said both goals are attainable. Last year, 50 teams participated. If the number of teams remains constant and each member of a 10-person team gives $10, the fund raising goal will be reached, she explained.
Lamb-Ferro said registering to participate in the event is easy. Simply go to www.acsevents.org/relay/wa/plu, and look for a link on the left-hand side that takes you step-by-step through the process. Participants can either register a new team of 10 people or join an existing team.
The event begins at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 20. Each registered team must have at least one person walking around the track for the full 24 hours of the event, with the relay ending at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 21. Performers from both UPS and PLU will entertain participants.
After last year’s successful event, PLU was named the Top Rookie Relay in the Great West Division and was a recipient of the Top 10 Per Capita Award at the national level.
“That kind of success on a small campus such as ours works not only to promote the university itself, but also serves to increase community involvement,” Lamb-Ferro said. “We're always talking about breaking down the ‘Lute Dome’ mentality, and hosting Relay For Life provides us with the opportunity to do that.”
According to the American Cancer Society, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, and half of all men and one third of all women in the country will develop the disease during their lifetimes.
To learn more about the relay, how you can participate, or how to donate or join a team, contact plurelay@plu.edu.