Pascack Hills High School proudly announced that they would host this year’s Relay for Life which occurred on Friday, May 16th, at Lockwood Field in Woodcliff Lake from 5-10 p.m. Although the event was moved indoors, everyone still made sure to make the best of it. 

When walking into the school, people working with assorted cancer organizations had to sign in. There was a lot of food, including pizza, salad, and delicious snacks. Attendees were greeted by a DJ, posters, and tables. The posters on the wall listed reasons why people relay.

The environment was well-organized and ran smoothly, and made the event even better – despite the weather.  This marked the ninth consecutive year that the Cavo Cancer Crushers have been involved in Relay.  It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it.

Apparently, this year there were more survivors in attendance (around 25) than in previous years, making the event even more significant.

This year’s theme was “Just Keep Fighting”, which represents how people who are struggling with cancer keep going. The Cavo Cancer Crushers created a slogan based off of Finding Nemo – “Finding a Cure”. This is one of the reminders to cancer patients that they are not alone and they are thought about. 

Mrs. Loblanco added, “This year we raised over $25,000 for The American Cancer Society.  We are excited for all our club members that raised awareness and relayed for more birthdays!”

While Relay for Life addresses a serious topic, there’s also an element of fun.  In fact, there were two clowns named Tomi and Meatball! They both walked around the gym offering stickers and performing cool tricks. Although these clowns seemed like a joke, both of them had a serious purpose and a meaningful goal for being there.  

“Why do you do this event?”

Tomi explained, “We are a volunteer organization, and we want to come here to support people, make people smile and laugh.”

“What are your goals for this event?”

 Meatball answered, “I plan to make a lot of people happy, and to see the survivors, and give them our best wishes, and let them know that everyone loves them.”

The event started with the Pascack Hills’ cancer organization delivering a speech. Jamie Brown, a senior who attends school at Pascack Hills, shared her experience of battling leukemia. 

She offered thanks to those who’ve helped her through her journey, and included, “… my incredible doctors and nurses who not only saved my life, but also sparked my interest in pediatric oncology and helping others who have gone through the same thing as me.”

Jamie went on to express her gratitude for everyone supporting her, especially her friends and family. 

After her inspiring speech, the president of their organization then announced all of the survivors, including Mrs. Loblanco and Mrs. Dunican. These strong survivors were then each handed a medal, and held a banner honoring their journeys to start the survivors’ lap. This led up to everyone taking laps around the gym. Even when people needed a break from walking, others were there to continue. 

The evening went on with activities including coloring, rock painting, Zumba, karaoke, and tug-of-war. This allowed the teenagers and adults to have fun while also being there for an important purpose. 

After a few hours of these entertaining and amusing events, everyone was brought back to the main reason why they were brought here. At around 9 P.M., they returned to the bleachers with their groups to start the luminaria bag ceremony.

The bags were designed by donors who wanted to remember, honor, or support people who have had, died of, or are still struggling with cancer. The people running the organization lined the perimeter of the gym with these bags, and added a small, flame-less votive candle to light up the luminarias. They shut off all of the lights, and gave people a moment of silence to show their support to the families affected by cancer. They then had the opportunity to walk around the gym to admire all the well-designed creations. The room was filled with respect and many emotions, as well as the warm glow of the luminarias. 

As a person who has lost many people to cancer, it was emotional for me to look at all the bags, including the ones that I had made. As soon as they started to play music, I instantly thought of my grandpa, who suffered and passed away from cancer.

Relay for Life, to me, means so much more than the fun activities they have.  It’s about admiring people afflicted with cancer and acknowledging their strength throughout their fight.