About 15 years ago, members of the American Cancer Society's Gwinnett chapter were looking for a new way to raise money. They were shown a video about Relay for Life, an overnight walkathon.
"Some of us just saw the potential for it being something our community would jump right on," said Phylecia Wilson, a volunteer. "To me, it seemed like it was made for Gwinnett County."
The inaugural event, at South Gwinnett High School in 1994, went over big. While organizers hoped for 25 teams and $43,000, 43 teams raised $125,000, Wilson said. It set a record, since surpassed, for the most money raised by a first-year Relay for Life, she said.
The event at 15 has grown to involve thousands of people spending Friday night to Saturday morning at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds in Lawrenceville. Teams representing schools, businesses, churches, neighborhoods and other groups have raised millions.
For the past six years, it has been the biggest Relay for Life in the country in terms of money raised. Wilson has continued to volunteer with ACS and is now a public policy advocate. Both she and her husband, Dick, survived bouts with cancer. Phylecia fought off a form of leukemia thanks to a drug whose inventor received ACS funding, money she had helped raise.
Said Wilson, "Relay for Life absolutely changed my life, no doubt about that."
Norcross High raises big bucks
No team supports Relay for Life quite like the students and teachers at Norcross High School. In the past three years alone, Norcross High has raised $291,000. No school in the country raised more through Relay for Life last year than Norcross' total of more than $90,000.
About 250 students --- a little under 10 percent of the student body --- participate, committing to raise at least $200 each. They organize fund-raisers such as a school carnival and, this year, a dog show. One teacher raised money by soliciting donations to ride his bicycle from Nashville back to Atlanta over spring break. Alumni have gone on to college to coordinate their schools' relays.
"The kids here, their energy is contagious," said Kirsten Baker, a science teacher and the school's longtime Relay for Life team captain. "How can you ignore it?"
They've become known among the Relay for Life community for their giant themed campsites. This year, it's a suspension bridge, 60 feet long and 20 feet high. The theme is NorCrossing to a Cure.
"A lot of [the success] is [because of] pride," Baker said. "A lot of it is their older brother or sister did it and they told them how much fun it is. It's become part of a famly culture."
PROGRESS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER
In the last 15 years, through money raised by events such as Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society has funded programs, studies and research that have advanced the fight against cancer. Among them:
> The society affirms that one-third of all cancer deaths can be prevented through healthy living and physical activity (1996);
> The first overall downturn in cancer mortality rates was documented by the cancer society (1997);
> Cancer society research shows that long-term cigarette smoking is associated with increased risk of death from colon cancer (2000);
> The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves a vaccine, developed in part by the cancer society, that prevents certain types of cervical cancer (2006).
LOCAL PROGRAMS
Programs available through the Gwinnett chapter of the American Cancer Society:
> A workshop in which cosmetologists help women undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment with skin care, makeup tips and advice on wearing turbans, wigs, scarves and hats.
> A program in which volunteers drive cancer patients without transportation to and from their medical appointments.
> A program in which volunteers offer support and information to people recently diagnosed with breast cancer or facing decisions related to their treatment.
> A college scholarship, worth $2,500 over four years, available to any student diagnosed with cancer before 19 years old.
> A phone number that cancer patients can call to find out what clinical trials are being conducted nationwide for people suffering from their particular disease.
> A stop-smoking program at Gwinnett Medical Center.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
10,000: Expected number of participants, including 2,000 cancer survivors
25,000: Estimated number of cancer survivors in Gwinnett, according to the cancer society. About 2,000 people are diagnosed with cancer annually in the county.
$19 million: Amount raised through the first 14 relays in Gwinnett. With this year's goal of $2.6 million, the total should exceed $20 million.
0: Times a Gwinnett Relay for Life has failed to exceed the previous year's fund-raising total.
200: Number of children expected to participate in the Kids Walk Friday night. All children 15 and under are invited to walk a lap. Registration is $7, for which participants will receive a T-shirt.
Copyright 2008 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution