With the 10th annual Bay Ridge Relay for Life just days away, planning is picking up steam to make this year’s event the most successful one so far.
This year’s Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights Relay will be held on Saturday, June 21st, at the Fort Hamilton athletic field, beginning about 2 p.m. and lasting till the next morning.
“Last year we had about 40 teams,” recalled June Johnson, the community activist who heads up the effort, which takes place under the auspices of the American Cancer Society (ACS). “We already have about 50 teams so far. Normally, we have only one sponsor. This year, we have about 15. It just seems to have taken hold. People know about us. All the groups who are involved are really excited.
We usually have one honorary chairperson,” Johnson went on. “This year, we have three – Justin Berman, the principal of Christa McAuliffe Intermediate School, Dean Rasinya, the chairperson of Community Board 10 and Ronald Del Franco, the administrator at Victory Memorial Hospital.”
The honorary survivor for this year’s Relay has not yet been selected, noted Johnson. In past years, Rosemarie O’Keefe – the former commissioner of the mayor’s Community Assistance Unit – and Robert Buonvino – a community activist who is a member of CB 10 – have been honorary survivors for the event.
Tribute is also paid to survivors with a luncheon the day of the Relay, said Johnson. The luncheon, she said, is open to all survivors, whether or not they participate in Relay. For further information on that event, call ACS at 718-237-7851, extension 9134.
The Bay Ridge Relay is one of approximately 4,300 such events held around the world each year to raise money for cancer research and patient support.
The event, according to ACS, “Represents the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be supported, and that one day cancer will be eliminated.”
For those who are unfamiliar with Relay, it takes a specific format no matter where it is held. An overnight event, it kicks off with the survivors’ lap, in which cancer survivors walk around the track.
Following that, survivors walk around the track with family members and caregivers. When that second lap is completed, the event is open to everyone, and participants continue to walk around the track over the course of the night. A key aspect of the event is the Ceremony of Hope, with luminaries are lit in the names of survivors and in the memory of those who have lost their lives to cancer.
The first Relay for Life occurred in 1985. According to ACS, one in every 10 Americans has participated in the event. Since its inception, it has raised over $1 billion. Ninety percent of the money raised by the event goes directly into cancer research and programs. In its first nine years, the Bay Ridge Relay has raised over $800,000, according to Johnson.
“Joining Relay is joining the fight for a cure, building more services for Brooklyn patients, and making a real difference in the fight against cancer,” stressed ACS.
Besides the United States, Relay for Life is now held in 21 other countries. All of ACS’s patient support services are free of charge. A toll-free hotline, 1-800-ACS-2345 is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Questions about participating in Relay for Life can also be directed to the hotline.
