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Ursinus Among Top 20 Schools in Relay for Life Challenge

The Ursinus chapter of Colleges Against Cancer has been ranked among the top 20 colleges and universities in Relay for Life’s “Bring the People Campus Recruitment Challenge,” which aimed to register 10,000 new participants nationwide in February.

With 119 new participants registered, Ursinus ranked 18th among colleges and universities that recruited more than 100 people during the challenge. It’s a list that includes some of the country’s largest schools.

“I don’t know if there are words to describe the feeling of competing with huge schools,” says Allyson Norton, a junior from Toms River, N.J., who is vice president of the Ursinus chapter of Colleges Against Cancer. “Two years ago, our Relay event struggled to reach $16,000, and now we are on everyone’s radar. It is a great feeling knowing that I go to a school that stands for such a great cause and is supportive of everyone around them.”

Relay for Life events are fundraisers for the American Cancer Society. This year’s 12-hour Relay will be held from April 11 beginning at 7 p.m. until April 12 at 7 a.m. in the Floy Lewis Bakes Center. The event is aimed to serve as a way to honor survivors, remember those who have been lost to cancer, promote ways to reduce the risk of cancer, and raise money to help find a cure. Last year’s event featured an array of activities such as Zumba, volleyball, ping pong, gift-card raffles, wing-eating and doughnut-eating contests, and a Mr. Relay Pageant.

“We are bringing in some new events this year and, hopefully, a big surprise for everyone if we win February Frenzy,” which is four weeklong challenges to meet specific fundraising goals, says Norton.

In order to recruit more people for the Relay, everyone on the committee “kicked it into high gear,” says Norton. “We really wanted to make a statement, so everyone on the committee was e-mailing friends, family, teammates and professors to ask them to sign up.”

Last year, the Ursinus Relay for Life raised $26,000. So far, $7,500 has been raised, which is well ahead of where donations were at this time last year. The goal is to break $30,000.

“We had 30 teams last year, so we are really pushing to beat that number,” says Norton. 

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