Relay for Life 2018
Team ‘Hoops for Hope’ showing off their creative banner.
June 19, 2018
Relay For Life, held June 9 and taking place on the Middletown High School North football field, was successfully held overnight from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. Participants walked all day and night to represent the fact that cancer doesn’t sleep, so neither would they. It is an 18-24 hour journey providing the light of day and dark of night to parallel the physical effects, emotions and mental state of a cancer patient and their loved ones while undergoing treatment, and/or dealing with pain, suffering and loss.
Throughout the night, there are different events that the teams may complete for team spirit points. Some of the activities included, tug-o-war, the cheese ball toss, and a scavenger hunt. There are “theme laps” to walk, such as the munchkin lap (goes with the Wizard of Oz theme “There’s No Place Like Hope”) where you pick up a yummy munchkin to eat after every lap you do, or the three legged lap where participants take a lap tied to a partner.
Teams fundraise throughout the year hosting dining to donate nights at local restaurants, bake sales, car washes, reaching out to family & friends for donation support, finding corporate sponsorship support.
The Luminaria Ceremony is a poignant ceremony in which those lost to cancer are remembered, as the darkness of night parallels the dark days that a cancer patient goes through. A number of speakers participate in the event, including Dr. Cartier, who has attended every Relay for Life Opening Ceremony. This year Cancer Survivor Suzanne Battaglia spoke; sharing her story of courage, strength, and survival.
Ms. Tara Mahoney is the event organizer of the Relay for Life at MHSN. She embodies how cancer affects everyone, and how everyone has a story.
“My involvement with Relay for Life of Middletown began 11 years ago. This is my Relay story.
As the owner of my own dance studio, my dance team traveled to numerous dance competitions throughout the school year. In 2006 at one particular dance competition my dancers performed a great team routine and as I watched them exit the stage I noticed one of my younger dancers, Maggie Gaal, hobbling; but it actually looked like she was skipping with joy over the team’s terrific performance… little did we know less than one week later she would be diagnosed with osteosarcoma (a rare bone cancer).
This news and the reality of childhood cancer hit our studio hard. My dancers and parents were one family so in the face of this horrible disease we did what any family would do, we rallied together to educate ourselves and support Maggie in any way we could… this is where we found the American Cancer Society and found Relay for Life of Middletown; where the community came together every year to fight against cancer as one united force!
Maggie’s bravery, determination, spirit and relentless hope is why I began Relay for Life as a fundraising participant to honor Maggie’s fight and fight along with her and her family. 11 years later I engrossed myself with the mission and support outreach of the American Cancer Society that I now serve as part of the Event Leadership Team as a co-event lead of Middletown.
Relay means so much to me! I am a firm believer in giving back. I want to inspire and encourage others to give back and be a bigger part of their community in some way. Relay allows me to really work with students here at High School North in a meaningful and impactful way. Although it is a lot of work, I love the work I do! We have an awesome Event Leadership Team comprised of adults and students from the community.”
The coordination team has already begun planning for 2019. If you are interested in participating, you can always contact Ms. Mahoney!
“Cancer is scary,” she told us. “Cancer doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter how old you are, where you live, what your background is… and as long as people continue to hear the horrific words, ‘You have cancer,’ I will continue to fight. My hope is to inspire others to join me in the fight!”
