Angels For a Cure raises over $22,000 for cancer research

By: Kaitlyn Oates

Group of young women have raised over $22,000 for cancer

A group of young women reached their goal of raising $22,000 for cancer research. They are the team Angels For a Cure participating in the Oxford/Lafayette County for Relay for Life. The team, compromising of mainly members of Pi Beta Phi, has a goal of raising $20,000 which is a huge step up from their goal last year of $15,000. Last year they were just shy of their goal. Over the past three years Angels For a Cure has raised over $25,000 for cancer research.

(tanks given to the girls who met their fundraising goal)

Relay For Life is a 24 hour long event that celebrates cancer survivors living to have another birthday. It is put on by the American Cancer Society and is their main fundraiser. The event consists of three laps: the survivor lap, the luminaria ceremony, and the fight back ceremony. The luminaria ceremony is when loved ones who have battled cancer names' are written on bags filled with sand with a candle lit inside. It takes place after dark and participants walk a lap in silence.

The two captains for Angels For a Cure are Brooke Cantwell and Cassidy Hedges, seniors at Ole Miss. Both girls have been impacted by cancer. Cantwell is a bone cancer survivor while Hedges brother was diagnosed with stage 4 testicular cancer in July of 2004. Both thankfully are survivors and have been cancer free for several years.

Both girls have been doing Relay for Life for eight years. “My nurses introduced me to relay and I joined their team. This is my 8th year,” said Cantwell. Hedges got involved her freshmen year of high school through one of her good friends who was an annual participant. It was just one year later that her brother was diagnosed.

The girls have been working hard to raise money and finally surpassed the $20,000 mark. “Being that this is Brooke's senior year, and mine the two of us decided that this year's goal would be $20,000!” said Hedges. They have over a hundred girls on their team who are relentlessly fund raising. Hedges has personally gone over her goal of $3,000 and raised $4,600! Cantwell herself has brought in over $1,300 of the proceeds. Other members on the team have brought in well over their $100 personal goal. Allison Dawson has raised $1,000, Angie Tracy has raised $800, and Kristin Robinson has raised $600, all three are students at Ole Miss.

The team is also hosting four Chick-Fil-A spirit nights from 5-9 P.M. where 15% of all dine in meals go to the team. The first dine-in night raised $206.83 which is the largest check they have ever had to cut. The last spirit night was on May 3rd. This year's Relay For Life theme is “Circus” so the team will have a tent set up with carnival like games to help raise extra money. Currently, they have sand art and a bean bag toss for the kids.

Relay For Life of Oxford/Lafayette County is taking place on May 6, 2011 from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. So far eighteen teams have signed up and $54,400 has been raised combined.

For more information please visit: www.relayforlife.org