Rallying for the Cause

Campus gears up for sixth-annual Relay for Life

by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

Marc Brahaney P’15 was an architecture student in the 1980s when he was diagnosed with cancer, but after a few years’ break from school, he went on to earn a graduate degree from Princeton, cancer-free. Soon after, he and wife Janet Lasley founded an architecture and design firm and went on to raise two children. And when Janet was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma in 1998, she too refused to give up, despite the negative prognosis.

Caylin Brahaney ’15 (English, psychology) was just 4 years old at the time of her mother's diagnosis, and as she grew, she watched her mother defy the odds by surviving and thriving for 12 years until her death in 2010. Today, that trademark family resilience and positivity live on Brahaney, a five-time Relay for Life volunteer who co-directs the 2015 Dickinson Relay for Life, along with economics major Casey LaTorre ’16.

“I think it's really important to become involved in events like these to help with cancer research and education,” Brahaney says. “And Relay is an especially great event, because the money that's raised funds cancer research and support for cancer patients and their families.”

Carrying the torch

Held in more than 20 countries, the annual Relay for Life campaign brings a combined four million people together in support of that cause. Its Dickinson team was founded in 2009, in part by top fundraiser/cancer survivor Darcy Phillips ’11.

Now, as then, students, faculty, staff and administrators across campus register for the event and work in small teams throughout the year to raise funds. The campaign culminates with a 12-hour, campuswide fundraiser, held this year on Friday, April 10. All members of the campus community are invited to register to participate in any part of the event, which begins with an opening ceremony at 7 p.m., a survivors’ lap (7:30 p.m.) and luminaria ceremony (9 p.m.), and ends at 6 a.m. on Saturday, with plenty of family-friendly food, games, contests and entertainment in between.

“We have a ton of cool activities planned and awesome speakers coming to tell their stories,” says Brahaney, noting that several Dickinson dance and a cappella groups also will perform.

Meeting the goal

The Dickinson team is shooting for $58,000 raised and 800 participants, and so far, all systems are a go. In the Relay for Life East Central Division February Frenzy Online Challenge, a fundraising competition among colleges and universities from across Pennsylvania and Ohio, Dickinson tied for first place, with the highest percentage of team members raising $100 or more from Sept. 1 through Feb. 28. And, at the time of this writing, 43 Dickinson teams and 612 volunteers have raised a combined $56,112.64 (Brahaney has single-handedly raised $5,275 of that total, and the top fundraising team, Pi Beta Phi, has contributed $12,082.09, and counting), just $2,000 shy of the target.

As the countdown to Friday continues, the student-organizers are hoping to get even more Dickinsonians involved, particularly faculty and staff members. Several professorial and administrative teams, including President Nancy Roseman's leadership team, are already on board.

“I have been involved in a number of Relay for Life events over the course of my life and am not at all surprised that Dickinson students have created such a wonderful Relay tradition here,” Roseman says. “Cancer touches all of us, and events like this provide an opportunity to do something tangible so that efforts to understand and treat cancer can continue."

Registration for the Dickinson Relay for Life is $10 for advance online registration or $20 at the Kline Center on Friday, beginning at 6 p.m.

Learn more

• Relay for Life Video
• “Relay for Life Makes Dickinson Debut”
• Dickinson Relay for Life on Facebook
• Register for Relay for Life online
• Latest News

Published April 8, 2015