Relay For Life Moves (About 1,000 Feet)

Toward A Promising 2011 Event

By Shannon Hicks

Newtown’s Relay For Life is on the move. Not only did the 2011 event celebrate its formal kickoff with a meeting at Newtown Middle School on March 3 — rallying newcomers and returning participants for the annual event that is only three months away — but the June event will be moving to a new location.

After two years on the soccer fields at Fairfield Hills, Relay For Life will relocate this year to the grounds of Newtown Youth Academy. Still within the Fairfield Hills campus, the new location at 4 Primrose Street will allow Relay to enjoy its traditional presentation of an outdoor track lined with team and fundraising tents. It will also incorporate indoor activities under the NYA roof, as well as the quick relocation of Relay should rains return during the event.

The Newtown Relay For Life committee has had its share of weather worries during the past eight months. Between a severe rain storm accompanied by a tornado watch that moved the June 2010 event from the Fairfield Hills campus into Reed School’s cafetorium before being scrapped altogether, and a snow storm last month that postponed the kickoff for the 2011 Relay, coordinators have put in their weather work.

Newtown Relay For Life 2011 will be June 4–5. The overnight celebration of life continues to raise funds (which individuals and teams generally start doing months before the formal event) for the American Cancer Society with team members taking turns walking a track. The event includes an opening ceremony, a special lap for cancer survivors and their caregivers, and a lap after sundown when the track is light from the glow of luminarias lining the track, with each candlelit bag honoring those who continue to fight their battle against any form of cancer as well as remembering those who lost their lives to the disease. In between, there are countless special events, music and other live entertainment, prayers, and countless creative fundraising and networking opportunities.

On Thursday, March 3, Relay Event Chair Addie Sandler and Co-Chair Michelle Babyak hosted the rescheduled kickoff meeting at Newtown Middle School.

This year’s Relay theme is Another Birthday Is A Gift In Itself.

“Our focus this year is simply fighting cancer and celebrating more birthdays,” Ms Sandler said March 2 via e-mail. “We are getting back to Relay basics. No gimmicks, no competition, no Relay Bucks, no Number 1 tent site, and no fundraising requirements.”

On Thursday, she and Ms Babyak excitedly spoke of the new changes planned for 2011, the biggest of which is the relocation, about 1,000 feet southeast of the location used for the past two years.

“There will be lots of great inside activity and fundraisers,” Ms Sandler said while behind her, Ms Babyak pointed out the layout of the revamped track and the proposed location for team tents at NYA.

The stage this year will be set up near the main entrance of NYA. Registration, luminaria sales, and food purchases will also be done in this area.

The opening ceremonies will take place with team members and guests gathered in front of NYA’s front steps, and then the Survivors’ Lap will leave from the front of the building and head in a northeastern direction away from the building, using the upper parking lot and grassy area outside the building of the health and fitness organization. Survivors’ Lane is approximately 820 feet from start to finish.

Seating for survivors during the opening ceremonies will be right in front of the stage area. Cancer awareness tents will be set up within the soft rectangle created by Survivors’ Lane, to the northeast of the seating area.

The regular track that has been designed for this year’s Relay will also begin and end in front of NYA. From the youth academy, walkers will follow Primrose Street, around to and then across the length of DeBeers Street. From there, the track will return to Primrose Street and circle back to the academy, a full length of about 1,100 feet. The previous track at Fairfield Hills measured approximately 2,075 feet.

The Survivor Lounge has been moved indoors.

(Access this story online, at www.NewtownBee.com, to see a view of the planned layout.)

“There won’t be as many tents outside, but we are getting down to the basics of why we are here,” said Ms Sandler. “I think this will be a great quality event this year.”

Teams should have a minimum of eight people, but will max out at 15, they said.

The location of team tents at Relay will follow a simple plan of first come, first served.

“Team assignments will follow online registration,” said Ms Babyak. “Honorary chairs will have first pick, and then we will allow team captains to select their sites following the order their teams were registered online.”

Participants can register online and pay a $10 fee. Each participant has a fundraising goal — not requirement — of raising $100.

While teams will no longer compete for tent locations along the track, they will be recognized with team incentives once they reach different levels of fundraising.

ACS Staff Partner Debbie Colgan, who is working with Newtown Relay, introduced the Team Fundraising Club Thursday night. ACS developed the program to provide teams with recognition for their fundraising efforts.

Ms Colgan presented the first sign for a Newtown club to three members of Las Mamacitas, saying the team had already reached Silver level for raising more than $3,500. She also hinted that “they are already nearing their gold status,” which recognizes fundraising of $5,000 (as of Friday morning, in fact, the team was credited on the Newtown Relay website with having reached $5,543.25 in fundraising efforts).

Individual Incentives have also been introduced by ACS this year. Individuals will be honored as they begin passing the $250 fundraising mark.

Kids for A Cure, a mini Relay for grade school children, will also return. Youth and their families are invited to walk the track and participate in cancer awareness games from 4:30 to 6 pm. The opening ceremonies for Relay will begin at 6, and youth will walk the first official lap to start the ceremony by making a pledge to fight cancer. No registration is required for this event and all, the co-chairs emphasized, are welcome.

“We went it simple. We want people to come and just have fun,” said Ms Babyak. “We are just encouraging everyone to come and join us, to fight back and celebrate.”

The Honorary Co-Chairs

In addition to introducing of new American Cancer Society (ACS) Staff Partner Debbie Colgan, Thursday’s program also included what Addie Sandler called “one of my favorite parts of the kickoff,” the introduction of 2011 Honorary Chairs, Betty Presnell and Sam Smith.

“In selecting our honorary co-chairs this year, we wanted to honor two survivors who have inspired us,” Ms Sandler said. “One is at the beginning of her journey, and the other is much further along.”

Mrs Presnell is in her first year of being a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed in February 2010, and has been told she is in remission. This will be her second Relay.

“I appreciate everything, every day, and if I can do anything for any of you,” Mrs Presnell said following her introduction, in the sincere Southern twang with which she has captured dozens of hearts for years, “you just let me know.”

She was nominated for the honor by friend Kim Pearlman, who is also captain of the NUMC Angels Relay team.

Sam Smith will celebrate his 20th anniversary of survivorship in June, having beaten acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL. His wife Lisa, who introduced him, spoke of meeting Sam while the two were still in college and being great friends well before they fell in love. The couple began dating on December 25, 1991, “when someone pushed us under the mistletoe and forced us to kiss,” she said.

“No one forced me!” Mr Smith called out to her from his seat, drawing laughter and applause.

“And now here we are, two children and 20 years later,” Mrs Smith continued. “Sam is a wonderful dad, a great husband and friend, and that’s why I nominated him.”

Lisa is also captain of Newtown Relay’s Team of Hope.

Also speaking during Thursday’s kickoff was Liz Houle, a team captain for Greater Waterbury Relay For Life. Ms Houle is the Mission and Advocacy Chair for the Greater Waterbury Relay, and by extension an advocate though American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), a national cancer advocacy organization that works to keep cancer issues a national priority.

Ms Houle spoke of the efforts of ACS CAN, including the upcoming Lobby Day, at which time she and other ACS CAN advocates will travel to Hartford to spend five hours at the state capitol.

Joining Relay Efforts

Thursday’s kickoff event also included the recognition of Michelle Babyak as a Hero of Hope, which Ms Colgan described as “kind of ambassadors of hope. These are survivors who go out into the community, get people involved.” Ms Babyak’s video, Survivor Story 2010, was the first one Ms Colgan viewed after beginning her work with ACS, and “it was amazing.”

Mrs Babyak was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer eight years ago, when she was 36 years old. Her video uses the Phil Collins song “You’ll Be In My Heart” while slides show photos of Mrs Babyak with family members and friends before, during, and after her battle with cancer. Mrs Babyak shared her story, and then screened the video, which received a round of applause at its conclusion.

“Thanks to the American Cancer Society, and people like you, who have raised money for cancer treatment and research, I am here,” she said. “My first Relay changed me. When I took that first lap as a survivor, I cannot explain the feeling of empowerment that came over me.

“Relay has changed me,” she said. “I’m hooked. I challenge everyone: create or join a team, recruit others, raise money.”

The public can join Relay For Life at any point. Fifteen Newtown teams have formed, but there are openings on most teams and plenty of room for at least 20 more teams, according to the preliminary plans shown Thursday night that have spaces for 54 teams.

Dozens of volunteers opportunities are available. Informational meetings are scheduled for Thursdays, April 7 and May 5 at Newtown Middle School, each starting at 7 pm.

To get an idea of the opportunities available for Newtown Relay 2011, visit ACSevents.org/newtownCT. Additional general information is also available at RelayForLife.org.

To contact Ms Sandler or Mrs Babyak send an e-mail to RelayForLifeOfNewtown@gmail.com, or talk to anyone who has been and/or is returning to be involved in Newtown Relay For Life 2011. Residents of all ages have participated in Relay since it arrived in Newtown in June 2004.

The next informational meeting for Relay For Life 2011, which is open to the public and anyone who would still like to get involved in Relay 2011, will be Thursday, April 7. It will begin at 7 pm in the cafeteria of Newtown Middle School (park in the school’s south lot), and is expected to last about one hour.