The significance of Relay's overnight

Gordy's Vision

Dr. Gordy Klatt, the father/founder of Relay, had a vision for what Relay symbolized.. This tries to capture it.

Dr. Klatt had a purpose when he began the 24-hour Relay in 1985. The significance of daytime and nighttime coincides with the journey that all cancer patients go through.

Clear your mind and picture...

It's daylight. Life is wonderful. You're healthy, happy and looking forward to the future. You're looking forward to your child's dance recital or taking your child to Disney World for a vacation. You're looking forward to the new house you just bought. you have a new dream job that you're thrilled about.

But then, ...darkness falls.

You hear those words "You've got cancer," or worse, your child has cancer. Your life has suddenly become very dark. You don't know what the outcome will be. You feel there is no hope in sight. You start your treatments. You're nauseous and you have no hair. You're exhausted from caring for your child and from the agony knowing there's nothing you can do to make him healthy again. You couldn't possible feel any worse.

Until...

The sun starts to rise. The tumor is shrinking. Your treatments are working. You're getting your appetite back. Your child feels well enough to go out and play for just a few minutes. There is hope.
It is now daylight, and you're in remission. You have your life back. You've made it through the night and the darkness. you celebrate life in the daylight knowing that the darkness of nighttime is behind you.

That is why we Relay, This is why Relay is an overnight event.

Team Basics

Having a team requires:

• Teams are made up of 10 to 15 friends, co-workers, family, clubs, organizations and, basically, anyone. Teams can be smaller than 10, but that puts the team at a definite disadvantage in fundraising.
• Teams must register online at the ACS Macon County Relay Web site. Forms for survivors, luminarias, etc., are also available online. Registering online allows, if the team/member wishes, the use of e-mail fundraising from the site, donations to be made to teams and individuals online through use of a credit card or by printing out a mail-in form and team and individual team member Web sites.
• Cost is $100 to register a team for Relay for Life. However, there are special "deals" for registering, if you time it right. Macon County’s deal for 2007 is that team registration is $60 through the kickoff, which is Saturday, April 28. We will also be giving away a few "free" registrations as door prizes at the kickoff.
• A team captain/co-captains/leaders must be willing to attend information meetings once a month (more in June/July, as the event gets closer) or send someone in their place and pass that information on to team members. Meetings are not limited to team captains or to one person per team. Anyone interested in Relay, being on a team, being a captain or volunteering is welcome.
• Fundraising: Suggested fundraising goal is $100 per team member, with a total per team of $1,000 to $1,500. However, this is only a suggested goal. There is no fundraising police to bust teams that don’t make the suggested goal, and every dollar raised is important. However, the whole purpose of Relay for Life, and one of the main reasons for the all-night celebration, is how much money is raised for ACS, so be serious about soliciting funds for your team. Fundraising gets easier the more and number of years you do it.
• Teams must clean up their own campsite area when the night is over or before leaving, whichever comes first. When decorating campsites, remember, what you bring in, you must either take to the trash or take with you.

Having a team does NOT require:

• Staying on site all night. It’s more fun when teams stay the whole time, and they get more of a chance to participate in the activities and fundraising, but it’s not a requirement. Also, there is a significance to the all-night format.
• Fundraising online or having a personal Web site on the ACS Macon County Relay Web site. Those tools are there if individuals/teams wish to use them.
• Participation in any games/activities the night of Relay for Life. Each team is asked to do a lap with all the teams as part of the opening ceremonies, and teams are asked to have one person on the track at all times, but sitting and enjoying the fellowship, stories and atmosphere is fine, too.
• Elaborate campsite decorations. It’s up to each team as to how much/little they wish to do.

Our spot to blog about Relay: Purpose

Hello, everyone.

This is something new (for me, too) and I hope everyone will take advantage of it, use it, pass the link around to those interested in this thing called Relay and why we do it and enjoy. In the upcoming weeks, I'll be putting in posts with frequently asked questions about the Macon County Relay for Life. Things like forming a team, banking, fundraising, campsites, etc., etc., as a way of addressing some of those things that don't get covered every meeting and, yet, there's information that needs to be passed along - for new participants, those thinking about participating and even some of us old-timers, as things change from year to year.

Please feel free to post questions here, add your ideas and comments, helpful hints to new teams/captains, etc. Post your fundraisers here, as well as on the bulletin board on our ACS site. I'll even add a spot at some point for "Why I Relay" stories, so everyone can share and get to know each other a bit.

Right now, the plan is that I'm NOT going to moderate, or OK, comments. I just don't see the need. Please remember that Relay is a family event, and as such, I'd like language to reflect that goal. I'd also like comments to remain positive. The overriding theme for Relay is "HOPE" and, while a little bit of moaning and complaining is expected ("I'm SOOOOO tired!") I'm hoping this will be a positive place.

So, laugh, cry, share, and enjoy.

Shari Cain, c0-chair 2007 Relay for Life of Macon County