Upcoming Relay for Life Events
April 12 — Ceres, Ceres High School
April 26 — Hilmar, Hilmar High School
April 26 — Oakdale, Oakdale High School
April 26 — Merced, Merced Community College
May 3 — Turlock, Pitman High School
May 17 — Modesto, Johansen High School
May 17 — Ripon, Ripon High School
June 7 — Riverbank, Riverbank High School
June 21 — Escalon, Escalon High School
July 19 — Atwater, Veterans Park
Sept. 13 — Atwater, Shaffer Elementary School
Thousands of people cross the California State University, Stanislaus campus each day, but on Saturday hundreds of those people were walking for a cause: cancer.
The internationally known nonprofit American Cancer Society’s signature event, Relay for Life, drew hundreds of local students and families to the CSUS campus to participate in this year’s Relay. The 24 hour event that requires at least one person from each team to be walking a charted course at all times, symbolizes the mental and physical test that cancer patients endure when undergoing treatment. Relay for Life represents the fight against cancer and honors those who have fought.
“We definitely had a higher attendance than we have had in the past,” said Brittany Rosengarten, event chair of the CSUS Relay for Life. “We collaborated with Turlock High School and with all of the students in their club as well as parents, siblings and grandparents; there were definitely more people at the event than previous years.”
“Cancer does not discriminate and neither do we” was the THS Relay for Life club motto which symbolized the diverse group of students that fundraised for cancer research. With students from all backgrounds and activities including athletes, musicians, theater students and more, the THS Relay for Life team brought a community spirit to the CSUS campus.
“They diligently worked hard and fundraised through the entire school year. We had fundraisers including a drive through dinner at Neto’s, a co-ed softball team, a cookie dough fundraiser, and a No-Shave November, among others. Students also just pounded the pavement asking for donations and they were able to really make a difference,” said Kristin Bettencourt, coordinator of the Turlock High School Relay for Life Club.
This was the first year that CSUS and THS collaborated for the Relay for Life event, which generated more teams to compete against each other in the Disney-themed Relay laps. More than 400 participants walked for the cause on Saturday and raised over $20,000.
“Everyone truly bonded over a common cause,” said Bettencourt.
Check out the April 10 episode of Studio 209 at turlockjournal.com/multimedia or youtube.com/turlockjournal for video coverage of this event.
