WATCH: Become a Hero by Joining Relay For Life at UC

The 12th-annual Relay For Life at UC – the largest student-organized community service event on campus and the largest collegiate event of its kind in Ohio – will get underway at

6 p.m., Friday, April 4, on McMicken Commons.

The “Hero” themed event will end at noon, Saturday, April 5, with the announcement of the fundraising total to benefit the American Cancer Society.

UC students hope to raise just over $144,430 to support American Cancer Society education, advocacy and research programs, including American Cancer Society-funded research at UC. Last year’s Relay For Life at UC raised just over $129,296. The UC Relay For Life website reports that for 2014, 111 teams and 690 participants have already raised more than $35,880 for the Relay this spring.

The event is an overnight spectacle on UC’s campus, as teams of volunteers take turns walking around the Relay route on McMicken Commons during the entire 18-hour event.

The event starts off with the Survivor Lap, in which many participants – including UC students, faculty and staff – share their personal story of battling cancer.

Many of the student organizers who passionately plan UC’s Relay also have loved ones who have won or who have succumbed to the fight against cancer. “My grandfather died of breast cancer, which is typically not associated with men, so getting involved in this event was a special tribute to him,” says Christine Pope, UC’s PR/marketing chairperson for Relay and a second-year marketing and international business major and Kolodzik Business Scholar from Columbus, Ohio.

The American Cancer Society reports that more than 1.6 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2014.

The organization estimates

that 585,720 Americans are expected to die of cancer this year – that’s 1,600 people per day. Cancer is the nation’s second-leading cause of death.

People who are interested in taking part in the Relay For Life at UC can sign up as a team through the website or make a donation to the fundraiser.

UC’s Relay For Life website

Related News: Student Cancer Survivor Will Share His Experience at Relay For Life at UC