Saturday, December 21, 2013

365 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS


      The day after Christmas the countdown began, every year without fail for as long as I can remember. The thought never crossed my mind that this would be the year I didn’t hear my grandmother exclaim, “Guess what everyone! 365 days until Christmas!”

With every dedicated chime, “6 months until Christmas…2 months…10 days…3…2…1,” Nene recalled the fact that Christmas was around the corner, not forgetting to mention that I better behave to avoid a piece of coal in my stocking come the morning of. She was the ultimate yearlong advent calendar, and her fudge was better than any chocolate hiding behind a little cardboard door. However the gesture was far more than a prolonged drumroll for the big day, it was a continuation of the holiday spirit. She was reminding us that the warmth and love evoked during the season does not come and go as the winter months pass, rather it is all around us, all the time. And sometimes it takes a special person to show that before you realize it for yourself.

            Nene passed away December 21st of last year after losing the battle to lung cancer. Having decided to withdrawal from treatment, the most courageous of choices, the outcome was inevitable however there was not a time, a place nor a moment when those who cared about her were ready to let her go. Many fall weekends, I ventured home from school just to hold her hand, and with every good bye, the thought of it being the last crossed my mind. The “I Got You Last” tag game we used to play with each other before she headed home after dinner each day during my middle and high school years became too much of a reality. But she made it to the holidays. She loved the holidays.

            Losing someone you love is the hardest thing in the world to deal with. When you witness what cancer does to a person, you want to scream; you do scream, you cry and you hurt, but most of all, you feel so incredibly helpless.  But the thing is, you can’t let anyone know that; you have to be the strongest in the room as you watch someone you care so deeply about fade away. Rationalizing it and thinking, “they are no longer hurting,” temporarily dulls the pain, but truthfully, nothing can change the fact that come Christmas Eve, Nene won’t be sitting in the chair by the fire drinking the one alcoholic beverage she allowed herself each year, ‘Toasted Almond.’ It never tasted any good, but she would always sneak me a sip or two. It was tradition.

            When I think of the holidays, I think tradition. No matter what holiday, every family and every person holds onto traditions, big and small.  I envision dancing to The Pointer Sisters rendition of 'Santa Claus is Coming To Town' with my mom, making ‘Reindeer Stew’ with my little cousins and baking everyone’s favorite Christmas cookies, ‘Meltaways’ and then dueling over the last one. Traditions are part of the magic that IS the ‘holiday spirit’, but they are incredibly fragile and that becomes all the more apparent when someone or something is missing. However, realizing this fragility, welcoming new traditions and remembering the old allow us to cherish memories while creating more special moments to smile upon in years to come.


            This will be a different Christmas for my family and I; my mom, brother and I are headed down to Atlanta, GA to spend Christmas with relatives that we don’t see often enough.  It will be the first time that I won’t crawl out of my bed, wake up everyone too early and cozy up by the fire in my PJs and elf hat. While I reminisce about rushing down the stairs to see what Santa brought us, our perfected present unwrapping system and the silly stocking ceremony, I’m anticipating the new traditions and memories that will arise out of this change.  Beneath the hardship and pain of losing someone you love, there are positives, even something as simple as learning just how strong you really are. Sometimes those positives are hard to find, sometimes someone has to show you, but they are there. In the past, as the holidays came to an end, I all too soon let go of the joy that accompanied the season. However it was Nene who showed me to look for the good that is born out of change and to carry it in your heart wherever you go.

With RelayLove,
Publicity Co-Chair

Friday, December 20, 2013

BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER

Welcome to the new and improved Relay For Life at UVA blog! We are very excited about what we have in store for this page.


Please feel free to click around a bit! There are a ton of new features, including our "ABOUT RELAY" page, which gives you a little bit more information about Relay For Life here at UVA. We have also added a page dedicated to our chairs!

The "MEET OUR CHAIRS" page outlines our various committees and the people who make what we do possible - our chairs! Each committee chair picture will then take you to a page that outlines their responsibilities - be sure to check that out if you are wondering who to talk to!

Looking for more ways to get involved? Our "GET INVOLVED" tab outlines the basic steps of getting involved at Relay For Life at UVA. Come spring, we will also have the links to our Executive Committee application posted here!

To keep up to date on all things Relay at UVA, be sure to take a peek at "NEWS" and "CALENDAR" which will outline all of our past and upcoming events!

Finally, if you have any questions or need to contact our chairs about anything head over to our "CONTACT US" tab which has a contact form ready to fill out and send along to our chairs or you can email us at relayforlife@virginia.edu! This page also has a bunch of Frequently Asked Questions already answered!

Not only are we very excited for what we have in store for our new blog, but we are extremely excited about all of the great things we have coming up in the spring! Be sure to stay updated on all things Relay by clicking to the left on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and following us!

With Relaylove,


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

WE CAN'T STOP AND WE WON'T STOP

          

          Relay For Life at UVA is off to a GREAT start this semester, working harder than ever to achieve our goal of raising an accumulative total of $1,000,000 for the American Cancer Society! Last year at this time, we had raised approximately $3,500, however with 76 teams and 308 participants currently registered, we have raised $30,052.20 just since the start of the semester! Relay is doing BIG things this year, and trust me, you want to be part of it. If you have not yet registered make sure do so and get your friends and family in on it as well because we need YOUR help to make UVA history!!!
               
          Thank you to everyone who participated in the Vermonster Challenge! It was an awesome Sunday afternoon filled with lots of icecream and relay fun! We had over 150 people in attendance and raised $750 by devouring 31 tubs of ice-cream, each complete with 22 scoops and every topping you can imagine. Putting it all together, we ate 682 scoops of ice-cream in less than 10 minutes, which is approximately 434,000 calories total; thankfully the 5K is just around the corner!! It is even more shocking that the winning team was done in less than 3 minutes!
         Another big thank you to the 400 people who came out to our second annual Concert For A Cure. The event has grown since last year and has now become an anticipated Relay fall tradition. 
The amazing a capella groups sang their way into the hearts and wallets of the crowd, helping us raise over $2,500! We also want to send a special thank you shout out to the Hullabahoos who announced that they are making Relay a special robe for our annual silent auction which will take place this Spring! 

         With the great success of these past two events we are well on our way to reaching our goal, and we can't express to you how thankful we are for all your help and support! Looking to get involved in some more Relay fun? Don't worry, our next event is coming up at the end of the month, our 5th annual Fight Cancer 5k!!! It will be Saturday, October 26th at 8:30am at Monroe Plaza, so make sure you mark your calendars now because it is something you don't want to miss! Registration is only $10 and includes a free t-shirt, time to tone that bod, and time to spend with passionate people while supporting a great cause! Join us in the fight against cancer today by registering at: https://fightcancer5k.eventbrite.com/ 
Relay Love,
Relay For Life at UVA

Saturday, September 14, 2013

WE'RE READY, ARE YOU?

WELCOME BACK!!!

               We hope everyone has had a great first few weeks of school. This new year marks the 12th season of Relay For Life. We are so excited to make this year the best ever! Last year we hit records for Relay For Life at UVA by recruiting 120 teams, 1255 participants, and raising $143,825.41. We couldn't have done it without all of your help, so thank YOU so much!!
               While this last year was seriously great, we think that with the growing size of UVA and increasing presence of Relay, we can make this year EVEN GREATER, but only with your help, of course. Our goals for this year are to have 150 teams, 1500 participants, and raise $150,000! (Yes, we’re very fond of “150”.) If we raise at least $96,273, then Relay For Life at UVA will have raised $1,000,000 for the American Cancer Society!!! That's HUGE! Clearly we have a big year ahead of us, and we could not be more ready to take on the challenge!
              To get the ball rolling, we have tons of events coming up! We are hosting a Vermonster Challenge where a team of five races to eat 22 scoops of delicious Ben & Jerry’s ice cream plus toppings piled to the sky! (Or you can eat just for fun, too!) Thus far we have 31 teams registered and have raised over $700, so come out and watch it this Sunday, September 15th in the McCormick Quad.
              Concert For a Cure is also right around the corner. It is on September 20th at 8pm in McLeod Hall for only $5! Six a’capella groups will be there including the Hullabahoos (*cue screams of every UVA girl*). It will be a wonderful night that you don’t want to miss!
              If you couldn’t tell, we are SO excited for this year’s Relay For Life. You can even start registering and getting your team together here: http://relay.acsevents.org/site/TRpg=entry&fr_id=60216!!

 It is never too early to be involved.

 Relay Love,
Relay For Life at UVA

Monday, April 1, 2013

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL MONTH OF THE YEAR


         Happy Relay season!!! It is officially April, which means our huge event is this month! As we head full force towards getting ready for April 19th, it’s important to stop and reflect on the AMAZING progress Relay For Life has made this year.  This time last year we had 78 teams, 583 participants, and raised $46,169. Currently we have  115 teams,1,042 participants, and $76,481!!! That is absolutely INCREDIBLE and we are so thrilled that so many people have decided to join in the fight against cancer this year!
         Right now Relay For Life has so many exciting events going on this month and trust me, you don’t want to miss out!  Now until April 10th we have an online silent auction going on. Want a $100 giftcard to go ziplining, a Vineyard Vines tie, an overnight stay at the Boars Head Inn, a football signed by Coach London, a year long parking pass at Grand Marc? These are just some of the awesome items we have to bid on, and are great if you want to treat yourself, a friend, or a family member! Go to www.32auctions.com/relayforlifeatuva now and let the bidding begin!
         April 2nd to April 3rd we are having our $4800 in 48 hours challenge! Now is a great time to sign up for Relay or recruit more team members! Whoever raises the most money in these 48 hours will win a FREE pair of Beats by Dre headphones!!! Free stuff for raising money to fight cancer? Sounds like a win win situation to me!
         On April 14th in the Amphitheater we will be having a Vermonster Challenge! Make a team today and eat some delicious Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to fight cancer! For more information on how to sign up and get involved visit https://www.facebook.com/events/628262340521547/?ref=ts&fref=ts. 
         Look out for more of our fundraising challenges and bar nights as it gets closer to our main event on April 19th at Carrs Hill Field! There’s so going be plenty of food, fun, and games! Sign up now at www.relayforlife.org/uva and join us as we celebrate the victories against cancer, remember precious loved ones, and fight back to stop this horrible disease once and for all! It’s a one night stand you won’t regret ;)

Relay LOVE,
Relay For Life at UVA

Monday, February 25, 2013

IT'S BLITZ WEEK!


Today marked the kickoff of Relay For Life at UVA's 2013 Blitz Week! Be on the lookout for so many great events on Grounds this week to celebrate the upcoming Relay For Life event on April 19th! 
Here's a schedule of events for the remainder of the week:


Tuesday 2/26
·     Minute to Win It: Relay Challenge @LAWN 11:30am-1:30pm
·     Birthday Cake @CLARK 12pm-3pm
Wednesday 2/27
·     Flash Mob @ CLARK 11:55am
·     Birthday Cake @CLARK 12pm-3pm
·     BLOOD DRIVE @ Chem Building from 1-4pm
Thursday 2/28
·     Campus Cookies Bakesale @ LAWN, 11am-2pm
·     Bar Night @ Coupes: Drink Beer, Fight Cancer
Friday 3/1
·     Luminaria Ceremony @ Beta Bridge,  8pm-10pm
ALL WEEK
·     Paint Grounds Purple
·     Penny Wars @ Thorton, 10-1pm

We are at a record number of participants right now at 812 participants and over $43,000!!! Thank you so much to everyone who has already signed up! This year is going to be our most amazing Relay yet and you don't want to miss out! Also check out this latest video from the Publicity Committee below! You don't want to miss out on all the Relay fun so sign up at www.relayforlife.org/uva today and join the fight against cancer!

Relay Love,

Relay For Life at UVA

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

FUNDRAISE IN FEBRUARY


Since starting back up after break, Relay For Life at UVa has made some incredible strides for the 2013 season in just a few short weeks.  There are now 700 participants for the main event and as it gets closer and closer to April 19th, we want to see that number grow even more! So you know what that means? Keep signing up! Currently, we have raised over 33,000 dollars. Since the last blog post, that number has increased significantly, so why stop now, let’s give cancer a run for its money this year!
This month there are some amazing fundraisers going on around grounds, so be on the lookout! The Campus Cookies  “Like” Event started February 10th and ends March 3rd.  For every “Like” Campus Cookies’ Facebook page receives, they will donate 25 cents to Relay For Life. There is not an easier way to raise money for a great cause than with the click of a button. Go to www.facebook.com/CampusCookies and “like” away.
A special shout out goes to Hair Ties for a Cure, spearheaded by Lana Hoang. So far she has raised over 700 dollars by selling these super trendy non-hair crimping ties. They make great practical gifts, so if you’re looking for a little something extra for a special Valentine of yours and want to branch away from Teddy bears and chocolates, here you go! Also if you need to add the finishing touch to your little’s basket that you know will be used, this is the perfect thing. Visit the Facebook page for more information on ordering: http://www.facebook.com/events/149029531920489/?fref=ts
The month of February is also a very important month for Relay because it is our Pledge Month.  This month we hope to see numbers sky-rocket to make this the most successful year yet. Join us by pledging to raise 100 dollars this month by signing up at https://sites.google.com/site/relayatuva/; there is still a lot of time left!

Much Relay Love,
Relay For Life at UVA

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

WELCOME BACK!


We hope everyone had a wonderful break.  I know I had a great break telling my friends and family members all about Relay For Life at UVA.  As classes are picking back up again, so is Relay for Life!  We want to thank everyone for your hard work and support last semester.  Now that it’s spring, it’s finally RELAY SEASON!  Keep an eye out for some random group dancing on grounds, our Blitz Week at the end of February, Relay Week right before the event, and of course, lots of purple. 
Relay For Life at UVA is officially set for April 19th, 2013 at 6pm at Carr’s Hill Field.  So far, 96 teams have signed up for a total of 654 participants.  This is the most people ever to sign up at this time of the year.  We also have raised $29,114.52!  This is more than double the total at this point last year.  We are so excited to see these numbers increase!  Don’t stop now – keep recruiting and fundraising to make this a year a new record!  If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for?  Join the fight against cancer today!           

      Lots of Relay love and excitement,
      Relay For Life at UVA

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