By Ben Thompson

For the past five years, Relay for Life has brought hundreds of Northeastern students and community members together as they walk laps in Matthews Arena. The goal: to raise cancer awareness and honor those who have lost, survived or continue their battle with each lap.

“It’s something that everyone can relate to, whether it’s directly, whether you’re a survivor or your parents were affected or just through other people,” Giana Manzi, co-chair for publicity for Northeastern’s Relay for Life program, said. “I think it really hits home with everybody.”

Last year, the 12-hour event had over 2,800 participants and raised $245,000. The fundraising has placed Northeastern’s Relay atop the list of the most successful college fundraisers, ranking third nationally, according to Manzi.

“We hit a huge milestone,” Manzi said. “We raised over $800,000 total since we started at Northeastern, so we should hit the $1 million mark this year.”

The donations go towards the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) research and support for those affected by cancer.

“College kids have lots of time on their hands,” Matthew Singer, third year computer science & math major and an attendee of last year’s Relay, said. “They’re passionate and energetic and they can get stuff done. They do a very decent job.”

Currently, the Delta Zeta sorority team is No. 1 in the school with $650 raised thus far. The Kappa Delta sorority team is not far behind at $580. Along with a steady increase in its fundraising, Relay has also seen a greater attendance than ever before.

“The ACS doesn’t only donate money to research, which is obviously the most important, but it also donates money to helping those other smaller things that make big differences on patients and families,” Maura O’Connor, the relay chair for the Delta Zeta sorority at Northeastern, said.
Despite the competition to fundraise, O’Connor said that the event is heavily focused on a community feel.

“No one’s ever said anything negative about Relay,” O’Connor said. “I’ve been doing it since my freshman year, and I just love Relay for Life, and all the girls love going. It’s just such a huge event that everybody wants to go, so everybody loves being there. It’s like a community.”

While participants continue to enjoy the program and see more success, they also focus on spreading recognition of cancer and those it affects, including fellow Huskies who are currently fighting or have overcome the disease.

“People relate cancer to adults, but through our events it’s more than that,” Manzi said. “There are student survivors that you wouldn’t even realize are on campus. It’s a way to raise awareness, and that’s a good thing to have on campus so it’s not just the stigma that cancer means that you’re old. It definitely affects young people.”

This year, the event will be hosted on March 20, 2015 in Matthews Arena and celebrate its fifth-year anniversary.

“We started planning two weeks after the last one, but we are planning bigger and better for sure,” Manzi said. “We have our theme picked out. We’re planning a lot of fun activities. We’re also hopefully going to have some big name speakers.”

For Manzi, improving the event is an opportunity to continue growing. She hopes that there will be a greater Northeastern presence — getting faculty, staff and President Aoun on the track, as well as other students in the greater Boston community.

“It’s important to realize what one night out of your year can really do,” Manzi said. “You can raise so much money, and each dollar goes to so many important places. We really want the students to look forward to it, and I think they are.”

Photo courtesy of Maura O’Connor