The second annual Relay for Life at CLU raised $29,659.83 for the American Cancer Society.

Twenty seven teams and 330 official participants took part in this year’s event.

Team names included Operation Boobie Brigade: Stop War in My Rack and The Tumornators. It was Team Thomas that raised the most money this year, with a total of $3,969 raised by 65 team members.

“It went really well. It was an awesome event, and our team ended up raising more than $1,200,” said junior Shayna Perry, member of the California Lutheran University Rotaract team.

President Chris Kimball walked for Perry’s team, starting early in the morning on Sunday. Team Leader Diana Garcia walked 27 miles over the course of the event. Together, Perry and Garcia walked through the entire night Saturday into Sunday.

Christina Helm, captain of The Tumornators, was pleased with the $785 raised by the team’s eight members.

“We raised some of the money on-site with our bake sale. We also had many people donate online and that’s where most of our money came from. We had lots of virtual team members raising money on the Internet, and there were at least seven of us doing the walk. I walked at various times throughout the event, but I think I ended up doing seven miles,” said Helm.

She commented on how The Tumornators had raised more money in the previous Relay For Life event at CLU.

Last year, the team was more focused on raising money, while this year the focus was more on enjoying the experience.

“Oh yeah, I’ll definitely be coming back next year with the same Tumornators banner and everything. I even signed up to be on the planning committee,” said Helm.

Garcia and Perry, along with two other Relay for Life teams, raised more than $300 from the residence halls on campus through their penny drive.

Pederson Hall brought in the most money, and the generous occupants of the hall will have a pizza party thrown in their honor.
“The freshmen got much more spirited about the event than the other halls, Pederson especially, so they’ll be the ones getting the pizza party,” said Perry.

Helm spoke about plans for next year’s Relay for Life and how she would like to increase the amount of money raised for the American Cancer Society. Helm hopes to increase awareness and participation of the CLU community.

“Getting more people involved with the fundraiser, and getting more people aware that there is a fundraiser, that would help,” said Helm.

Junior Wesley Tierney, a member of The Tumornators, helped raise money by selling baked goods at the event and asking his parents to donate money.

“Yes, I’m definitely coming back next year…people should come and join and participate in Relay for Life. It’s a great cause,” said Tierney.

Jonathan Christopher
Staff Writer
Published March 20, 2013