Take Part in the Relay for Life on Friday and Saturday!

Students will host the University of Hartford's second annual Relay For Life, benefitting the American Cancer Society, beginning Friday afternoon, Oct. 9, and continuing through the early morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 10.

More than 700 participants representing 55 teams have already signed up for the event, and have raised more than $28,000!

Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to participate as teams or as invidivuals. If you would like to take part in the Relay for Life, you can sign up online at www.relayforlife.org/uhart, or you can register at the event until 10 p.m. Friday.

Relay For Life is a benefit walk sanctioned by the American Cancer Society to raise money for the fight against cancer. Proceeds go to cancer research, treatment funding, and to provide aid to patients and their families.

Last year, at the University of Hartford's first Relay for Life, more than 500 walkers raised over $38,000 for the American Cancer Society.

This year's walk and all related events will take place on the Gengras Lawn. The festivities will kick off on Friday (Oct. 9) at 1:30 p.m., with a barbecue, and the walking will begin with a "soft opening" at 3 p.m. Opening ceremonies will take place at 6 p.m., followed by speakers and a Survivor's Lap. Relay participants will walk around the "track" on the Gengras Lawn throughout the night.

In addition to the walk, other events will include entertainment from several bands, as well as Hawkapella, the Dance Team and other campus groups. There will also be a "Mr. & Mrs. Relay" Pageant, song writing contests, drawings, and sports games going on all evening long.

A highlight of the evening will occur at 9:30 p.m., when the field will be aglow with the light of luminarias in honor or in memory of individuals and their families who have been affected by cancer.

Survivors (faculty, staff and students) and their caregivers will be honored with a special dinner reception following the Survivor's Lap. Your strength and courage are a personal testimony of the progress we are making in the fight against cancer. Please contact Fred Jenoure at jenoure@hartford.edu or 768-4894 to attend the reception and walk the Survivor's Lap.

One person, hand-in-hand with another, can make a difference. For more information or to form a team, please contact Relay co-chairs Amanda Dillman or Marissa Harris at relay@hartford.edu.