Relay for Life: Circle K hopes to make second year a success

Relay for Life comes to Colorado School of Mines for the second time on April 25. Circle K, an on-campus organization dedicated to service and making an impact on campus and in the community, is hosting the event, which is slated to run from 6 p.m. Friday evening to 6 a.m Saturday morning.

The event will take place on Kafadar Commons and feature numerous bands, deejays and music throughout the night along with other activities. Circle K president Kaitlyn Martin shared some of the exciting activities planned for the event. “We will have midnight Zumba, and Katie Schmalzel will be holding a willPower and grace class. There will be sports going on all night such as soccer, football and Frisbee,” Martin said. “Prizes will be given out throughout the night, and there will be raffles to win even bigger prizes. There will also be lots of free food at the event.” A designated track will be set up outside of Kafadar for walking.

Everyone is encouraged to form a team and participate in this year’s Relay for Life. Teams can sign up ahead of time by going to www.relayforlife.org/SchoolofMinesCO. Each team is encouraged to raise $1000, and every individual participant who raises $100 will receive a free shirt. T-shirts are only guaranteed the day of the event to teams that sign up and raise the money before April 11. However, teams can continue raising money up to and at the event and extra shirts will be available for teams who raise money after April 11. All funds raised from the event will go toward supporting cancer research in Colorado.

Relay for Life is an overnight fundraising walk that raises money to support the fight against cancer. The first lap in Relay, known as the Survivors Lap, provides an opportunity for all cancer survivors in attendance to celebrate their victory over cancer. Since its conception in 1985, Relay for Life has raised nearly $5 billion to fund and support the fight against cancer.

Circle K hosted Relay for Life at Mines for the first time last spring. “Last year, as a Circle K club, we decided we wanted to try to make a big impact both in the campus and in the community,” Martin said. “We decided that a great event we could bring to campus that would both help people and be fun at the same time would be Relay for Life since they have experience holding events at colleges. We contacted people at the American Cancer Society throughout their volunteer match center and go appointed someone from their organization to help us coordinate the event. Last year we raised over $10,300 so we’re hoping to raise more this year.”

Questions about the event can be directed toward csmrelay@gmail.com.