Beginning on 8 p.m. on March 23, 2019, the ninth annual ‘Relay for Life’ will occur at Homestead High School. This yearly event will act as a fundraiser to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

“It’s a fun event where kids get together to raise money for a great cause. There is so much energy in the building,” Joseph Ciurlik, the faculty advisor working with the student Relay for Life committee, said.

The event will be a “lock-in,” in which the students will stay at the school overnight, with one of the objectives being not to fall to sleep, or as it has been put, ‘Cancer never sleeps so neither will we’. During this event, there will be four teams, a freshman team, sophomore team, junior and senior team. The goal will be for one student from each team to be walking the track all evening, with each team competing against one another to see who can raise the most money.

Though no final schedule has been put out yet, events that are scheduled to occur or have happened during past relays include a hypnotist, 3-on-3 basketball, Locks for Love haircutting and donations, and a Luminaria ceremony, in which cancer survivors will share their stories with attendees of the event.

“I’ve heard reallly good things about the event, and I’m especially motivated to go because it is fundraiser for a good cause,” Larissa Georges, freshman, a potential attendee of the event, said.

The first Relay for Life was inspired by a past student’s mother being lost to breast cancer. Since then, the Relay has occurred each year and is planned and run by a committee that meets every week before school as the event draws closer. Members of this committee have been impacted in some way by cancer, whether that be through a family or friend having the disease or them knowing the disease personally.

“I’ve attended every minute of every Relay and cannot imagine not being there.  At first it was an event to support students and colleagues who have had to endure the challenges of a cancer diagnosis and treatment,” Ciurlik said. “More recently my dad was diagnosed with cancer.”

There is to be an expected turnout of around nearly 400 students. Freshmen and seniors are the largest groups of confirmed attendees, with significantly fewer juniors and even fewer sophomores having confirmed.

“A lot of the freshmen seem excited to go,” Georges said. “I’ve heard from many people that they can’t wait to go, and the people who are planning on going are convincing a lot of other people to go, which is a really positive thing.”

Students can sign up for the event via the Relay for Life link on the Homestead web page. Each student is asked to raise at least $50, which can be raised by family and friends supporting your fundraising once you have registered.

“I hope we hit our goal of 400 students and raise a ton of money to wipe this disease out of existence,” Ciurlik said.