Relay for Life: The End

This morning, I just got back from my first Relay for Life! Starting at 10:00 AM on Saturday, Relay for Life was a 24-hour event which took place at Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, in which Relay teams got together and celebrated, remembered, and fought back against cancer.

Our team had a bake sale, selling home-made brownies and cookies. We previously had had the idea of selling chocolate covered strawberries (hence the team name: Strawberry Avalanche) but due to a previous experience with bake sales and chocolate melting, we decided to go simpler. Everyone on the team helped contribute to this event, whether it was food for our dinner or baked goods to sell. This collaborative work helped make our team, in my opinion, a success.

However, I must admit, that going "simpler" was not a good idea. Nearly every other booth in the Relay for Life event was also selling baked goods, often more decorated and better-looking than ours. We ended making around $28, a measly sum compared to the amount generated by more experienced teams. This had been nearly everyone on our team's first time at Relay, and thus, we did not know what to expect. Next year, we'll now know to stay away from bake sales and sell other goods to raise money for cancer.

During the event, we always had one person walking the "track", a carpeted lane where members of teams were supposed to walk for cancer. While walking, we would discuss everything from school work to plans for spring break, a chance for me to catch up with my friends which I hardly saw. This light-hearted activity was not only fun, but also gave meaning as I saw the paperbags labeled with names of loved ones, who had fought or were fighting cancer.

On a less light-hearted note, a special event during Relay for Life was the Luminaria ceremony, in which we all gathered to hear the story of a Survivor, who had fought off a rare form of cancer, and will be soon celebrating her 1-year after the surgery. We also heard from Aaron Martinez, who shared the story of his grandmother who passed away from cancer and of his mother, who had cancer, but won the fight. Afterwards, everyone, in the dim light, walked around the track, some crying, others holding hands and comforting.

This gave a whole new meaning to Relay for Life. In participating in Relay for Life, I was helping the fight against cancer, which affects everyone around the world. Every dollar I raised went towards cancer research, helping develop new techniques to fight the deadly disease. In total, the Relay for Life event made nearly $46,000, which all went towards cancer research. The ethical implications of my simple actions of helping raise money for Relay for Life may help effect somebody's life, saving families from falling apart and helping everyone celebrate more birthdays.

Relay for Life: There is no finish line until we find a cure.

Some Food for Thought

An idea is starting to grow.

After Camille and I talked, we decided to call our project (which I mentioned in my previous blog post) "Food for Thought".

I brought my idea up at an IB meeting, and some people seemed eager to join my project :).

Although "Food for Thought" would certainty fulfill my CAS requirements to plan and initiate activities and also work collaboratively with others, I feel that this project goes deeper than that.

Many children in Africa lack the proper facilities for an education, much less funds for educative material. Through our simple raising of money to buy books for children, I am slowly engaging the minds of children by simply giving them a book, fighting the global issue of illiteracy. Thus, when I'm going through with this project, I must keep in consideration the ethical implications of my actions, and not simply view this as another checkmark on my way to the IB diploma.

Good News, Bad News.

Two things to address.

Bad news: unfortunately, Mrs. Keeler said no to my plan to raise money for Relay for Life through a bake sale at school. I'll help organize the can drive which our team will have soon.

Good news: last year, I had this idea of somehow sending books somewhere as my Mother works at Gale, a book company, and last year, they had some fairly good deals on books (25 cents or something for a children's book). Camille, my friend, overheard my idea and suggested that we send the books through her pastor, who regularly visits Africa to volunteer. Perhaps, I'll think of organizing another bake sale :)

I'm asking my mother for quotes on books, and me and Camille will continue from there.

That's it for now, I'll update on the books for Africa as soon as possible.