Students, faculty and members of the community are coming together to raise money for The American Cancer Society at CLU through the Relay For Life, which starts Friday, March 8. There are already 28 teams signed up to participate, including a total of 240 participants and $14,773 raised so far.

Junior Shayna Perry, president of the California Lutheran University Rotaract Club and one of the students heading the CLU Rotaract team, has started a penny drive competition in the campus residence halls, in addition to recruiting volunteers for the relay.

“The idea is that you give pennies to your hall and you can give silver coins to sabotage the other halls,” said Perry. “There are penny boxes located near the snack shops in all the dorms.”

Perry outlined a competition where the residents of each hall compete with one another to raise the most money for charity.

Individuals can donate money to their own hall’s box, as well as other hall’s boxes. Each penny donated to their own hall’s box raises their hall’s score, but any amount other than a penny will lower the hall’s score, thus encouraging students to be particularly generous in halls other than their own. The hall with the highest score, even if it’s a negative score, will win.

“We’ve been getting silver coins, dollar bills, even fives,” said sophomore and Rotaract Club Vice President Diana Garcia, who, working with Perry, has assembled a team of more than a dozen people to walk for the charity event, including CLU President Chris Kimball.

“At least $100 have been donated in my hall…Our residents are up to the challenge and I think we can beat Pederson,” said Garcia.

Garcia said that whichever hall wins the competition wins a free pizza party from the CLU Rotaract Club.

However, CLU residents aren’t the only ones donating.

Conejo Valley Rotaract Club President Brian Coltin said that members of his organization are donating their change to the penny boxes as well.

“All of the money goes to a good cause, and that’s what’s really important,” said Coltin.

Kimball agrees.

“The cause is what’s important and I’m looking forward to participating…If I could do six hours total, I’d be pleased,” said Kimball.

Kimball is also bringing in volunteers from his office staff to join the CLU Rotaract team.

“We look forward to walking with him [Kimball] and raising money for a great cause,” said Coltin.

Any who wishes to donate to Relay For Life can go online and give money to any of the 28 teams participating in the event.
Those who want to honor someone affected by cancer can buy a $10 luminaria to be displayed around the relay track.

“I’m doing this to honor my cousin, Anabel,” said Garcia. “She’s the reason why I’m walking. She’s why I started the team.”

Donations to the penny drive boxes will be accepted until the beginning of the Relay For Life at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 8.

Visit http://relay.acsevents.org/site/TR?fr_id=48149&pg=entry for more information on the Relay for Life at CLU.

Jonathon Christopher
Staff Writer
Published march 6, 2013