On  April 16th, 2016, something amazing happened in the midst of Roo nation’s Saturday To-Do’s; Relay for Life was held at the Kangaroo stadium from 12pm to 10pm. A celebration of birthdays and life itself, as well as focusing on raising money for cancer research and funding. A relay team full of compassion for others and a heart to defeat cancer, and one Roo of our own, created this amazing and heart fulfilling day! Junior, Emily Geyer, was asked as a seventh grader to be apart of something she will never forget.

“My older sister had a team for three years when she was in high school, so when she went off to college, I was in 6th grade, and I took over,” Emily said

Because Emily was so involved, the relay team started to notice her humble passion, “this year I was asked to be a lead on the leadership team. So in total I have been participating for nine years,” said Emily when asked how long she has been a part of Relay for Life.   

Relay for Life welcomes everyone around the community to come out and have fun while supporting cancer survivors. From having a bounce house to a snow cone stand, smiles seem to be contagious on this bittersweet day! They even have themed laps each hour! However, the main goal for this event is to “have more birthdays by finding the cure to cancer,” Emily explained.

This event takes a year long preparation, by having monthly meetings and a weekend summer Cancer Society Convention, April 16th is more than ready for Relay!  “A total of about 99 hours a year plus little things here and there, preparing to make it the best Relay ever!” said Emily.

Unfortunately, the rain ended the event two hours earlier than expected; however, that didn’t stop members of the community from supporting cancer awareness and raising over $61,000. Even senior, Ashley Randall, ran a final of distance of 26.2 miles throughout the day! Stay tuned for next year’s Relay for Life date as we hope to see your #roopride spread throughout the stadium next April.