MSU President’s Column For Traill County Tribune
November 7, 2015
Students and staff organizing a Collegiate Relay For Life event to be held next spring
Each year, more than four million people in over 20 countries raise much-needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer through the Relay For Life movement. During a Relay event, participants, and survivors celebrate what they’ve overcome. People lost to the disease are remembered, and those who have fought or are fighting cancer are honored. The event inspires relay participants to take action against a disease that has taken too much.
The Mayville State Relay For Life event will be held at the Mayville Armory, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, April 29, 2016, and concluding at 6 a.m. on Saturday, April 30. The event is being coordinated by Mayville State students Aubrey Moen and Taylor Benneweis, and MSU staff member Mindy O’Connor, freshman admissions specialist and veterans certifying officer in the Office of Admissions and Extended Learning. Their goal is to involve at least ten teams of students, staff, and faculty who will participate in the Relay. Each team would be made up of eight to 15 people.
The American Cancer Society approached Mayville State personnel last September about the possibility of starting a stand-alone Mayville State University Relay For Life event. Mayville State is the fourth college campus in North Dakota to host a Relay For Life. The other North Dakota Collegiate Relay For Life events in the state are hosted at North Dakota State University in Fargo, the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, and the University of Jamestown.
The Mayville State event coordinators are in the planning stages and look forward to involving many others as the details for this event come together. This will be a great opportunity for Mayville State University students to get involved with challenging and rewarding volunteer opportunities. In addition, the Relay For Life event will give students an opportunity to build character and develop team-building skills, all while helping to raise funds to support the American Cancer Society’s signature fund-raising event.
On a more personal level, the Relay for Life will give our students the opportunity to raise money for a worthy cause, stay up all night, hang out with friends, make a difference, meet new people, give hope, and fight cancer. They’ll be joining 300,000 college students from more than 500 campuses across the country who will host a collegiate Relay For Life event.
The Mayville State Collegiate Relay For Life is being held in addition to the annual Traill County Relay For Life which is scheduled to be held in Hatton late next spring. The date for the event has not yet been set.
The American Cancer Society uses the funds raised through Relay for Life events for cancer research, patient programs and services, education, awareness, and advocacy. Relay For Life gives 5,200 communities and campuses across the globe the opportunity to celebrate survivors, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against this terrible disease by raising life-saving funds for the American Cancer Society.
Are you interested in joining in the fight against cancer and helping to create a world with more birthdays? For more information or to volunteer your assistance with the Mayville State Collegiate Relay for Life event in April, please contact Mindy O’Connor at 701-788-4625 or mindy.oconnor@mayvillestate.edu.