SMU 'Relay for Life' raises more than $153,000

DALLAS (SMU) – SMU’s Relay For Life team raised more than $153,00 at its 11th annual walk-and-run event on April 5, exceeding its goal as well as the amount raised last year.

Relay For Life celebrates the lives of people who have battled cancer, remembers loved ones lost, and fights back against the disease.

Activities included walking, running, bicycling, food and a Luminaria Ceremony that remembered people lost to cancer, honored those who have fought cancer in the past, and supported those whose fight continues.

Last Saturday's noon-to-midnight event, which had a goal of $145,000, followed the team's taking first place at the March 3-5 #1 Relay Challenge. In that competition, the team raised more than $29,000 in pledges in a 72-hour period to benefit the American Cancer Society.

Co-chairs of this year's event were Liz Blumberg, a communication studies major from Seal Beach,CA., and Mary Ellen Kerr, a civil engineering major from Shreveport. Last year, SMU Relay For Life raised $127,000

Relay for Life began in Tacoma, Wash., with the initiative of one man, Dr. Gordy Klatt. In May 1985 he ran a track for 24 hours and, with the support of his friends, family and the community, raised $27,000. Relay for Life is now the largest nonprofit activity in the world. It takes place in more than 20 countries and has raised more than $4 billion to fight cancer.

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