Relay for Life tries to find its footing on campus

Relay for Life at Princeton — a cancer awareness group typically sponsored by the American Cancer Society — chose not to officially partner with the ACS for this year’s walkathon in April. The decision to restructure the Relay for Life event, shortening it from 12 hours to five hours, reflected an effort to reduce the costs of the fundraiser and to increase the underdeveloped student interest in the event at the University.

With 25 organized teams, Relay for Life at Princeton raised about $14,000 during the 2012-13 academic year. This sum, the smallest amount raised among all the Ivy League institutions, reflects a student culture at the University that differs from other colleges in academic focus and campus events, the group’s founder and former president Pritha Dasgupta ’13 said.

Within the Ivies, Cornell University raised the largest amount this year: approximately $104,000 with 105 teams and 1,375 participants. But with 108 participants, Princeton's chapter ranked first among the Ivies’ in the average amount raised per member. The Princeton chapter's 108 members raised about $102 per person.

Internationally, Relay for Life events attract over 4 million participants from over 20 countries. To join, volunteers sign up in teams that raise money and spread cancer awareness. These efforts culminate in a Relay for Life event that spans 12 hours. During these fundraisers, typically held at high schools or colleges across the country, participants walk around a track and partake in various activities and games. The event also honors cancer victims, survivors and their caregivers.

However, Dasgupta, former president and founder of Relay for Life at the University, explained that this model has not been successful at the University.

“The Relay formula isn’t something that Princeton students can really adhere to,” she said. “Everyone’s involved in everything, so every weekend there are like 15 events going on. It’s very hard for people to divide their time, especially when an event like Relay goes on for a long period of time like six to 12 hours.”

Relay for Life at Princeton, which was created fewer than three years ago, has experimented with strategies to attract student interest in its events. In total, the University’s Relay for Life group has raised over $12,000 in donations this year. In comparison to the $75,000 and $51,000 raised by Rutgers University and Rider University, respectively, Princeton's chapter has struggled to achieve the same magnitude of participation seen by chapters at other institutions.

As a result, the chapter’s leaders decided to break from the traditional ACS Relay for Life structure. Instead, the chapter has hosted various small events throughout the year and shortened the final walkathon to five hours, featuring a performance by singer-songwriter Howie Day, according to co-chair Felicia Ng ’15.

Ng explained that the goal of the modifications to the event was to reduce the event’s cost per participant.

“For us, this template that the ACS has is not really working at Princeton because kids just don’t go to a place for 12 hours and stay there,” she said. “Most people don’t want to give up more than one hour or two hours of their time. So we cut it down to a five-hour event, which is much more realistic, much more attractive.”

Despite separating from ACS in redesigning the Relay for Life walkathon at the University, the Princeton chapter has maintained contact with the national organization. ACS has continued to support them by providing materials — such as event supplies and merchandise — as well as advice, said Ng.

Ng said that she believes the choice had a positive impact. An estimated 400 people attended this year’s event, according to the organizers.

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“One, it appealed to students more. Two, it cut down the cost of the entire event. Generally, it was a good thing for us,” she said.

Current co-chair Natasha Harpalani ’14 explained that the event had also been shortened from 12 hours to five hours due to expenses such as hiring security.

“We were also trying to give students more bang for their buck,” Harpalani said. “We really packed in performances and a lot of things for them to do, with the concert at the end. In my opinion, it went really well.”

This year, Rider and Rutgers had about 700 to 800 participants. Bridget Guardia, a Relay for Life participant from Rider, said a large portion of the fundraising success is due to the involvement of administrators and student associations, such as dance groups, fraternities and sororities.

Kristina Mischke, president of the Relay for Life Committee of Rutgers, also noted that the event is part of the student culture at Rutgers, and many student organizations set a quota for the amount their members must raise for Relay for Life.

“All of the sororities and fraternities are required to do it and are required to raise ‘X’ amount of money for their dues,” she said. “Relay for Life and the money that they raise is not so much out of the goodness of their heart as they’re being forced.” Additionally, Mischke explained that Rutgers has a much larger pool of students than Princeton.

Ng shared that many of the Relay for Life of Princeton committee members came from hometowns where the local Relay chapters had very high levels of participation.

Stacey Huang ’16, who raised $845 — the largest amount raised by a student at the University — has participated in Relay for Life in her hometown, Fremont, Calif., since elementary school.

“We had a football field, and people would camp out overnight. Pretty much 75 percent of the field was tents, and every team had a little plot, essentially, to put up a tent or to put up a table to advertise something,” she said. Huang also described student group performances, arts and crafts stations, and circles of friends gathered to play card games.

According to Dasgupta, Relay for Life sought to achieve this level of involvement at the University, but the event has not been as successful as hoped.

For this year’s walkathon, Howie Day agreed to perform for a significantly lower fee than he charges for regular events, and local and corporate sponsors donated supplies such as food and decorations, said Harpalani. Over the four events hosted at the University this year, Relay for Life received donations from 18 sponsors, including Cheeburger Cheeburger, Infini-T and Fruity Yogurt.

Despite these cost cuts, Dasgupta said that the leaders of Relay for Life at the University are discussing major changes to the organization of its fundraising efforts.

“I don’t think an event like a main culminating, big celebration is what is going to exist as part of the Relay for Life at Princeton,” she said.

In its place, Ng explained that the group may rebrand itself as “Colleges Against Cancer benefiting Relay for Life.” Colleges Against Cancer, another subset of ACS, places a lesser focus on fundraising and a greater focus on awareness campaigns. If the group decides to pursue the rebranding, the group’s efforts would shift toward more frequent events throughout the year that do not require large time commitments from participants. Instead of hosting a Relay for Life walkathon at the University, any students interested in participating would travel as a group to one of the nearby colleges — Rider, Rutgers or The College of New Jersey — to take part in their Relay events.

Ng said she hoped not only that this would decrease expenses, but also that it would generate interest in Relay for Life among Princeton students who would see the magnitude at which the event is hosted at other institutions. She said she hopes that, in the long run, Relay for Life may return to the University’s campus in its original structure.

These plans have not been confirmed, and details with regards to organizing a partnership with Rutgers, Rider or TCNJ have yet to be determined.

The mini-fundraisers that Ng refers to would be modeled off of events the student group held this year. Over the course of the year, the group has held a Spa Night, a Fondue Night, a holiday candy gram sale in December, a flower sale for Valentine’s Day and bake sales in April, which collectively raised around $1,000, according to Ng. The group has also held a photo and video shoot as part of an awareness campaign.

The chapter also held a 5K run open to the Princeton community in March, which raised around $550. Relay for Life also partnered with Cheeburger Cheeburger for a special event where a portion of proceeds from participating customers went to the organization.

Relay for Life at Princeton will continue to accept donations before the next academic year begins in August 2013 through its website.