Relay raises more than $100,000

Trey Draude attended Pitt’s Relay For Life to walk for his sister.

The Pitt sophomore… Trey Draude attended Pitt’s Relay For Life to walk for his sister.

The Pitt sophomore walked on Friday for junior Jordyn Martin, who was diagnosed with leukemia when she was only 13 years old.

“I saw my sister become a different person emotionally and physically,” he said.

Draude stood on a stage on the Cathedral of Learning’s mud-covered lawn to share how cancer personally affected his family, while participants in the Relay walked around the perimeter to fundraise for the American Cancer Society.

The ACS sponsored a shopping spree for Jordyn after she was diagnosed, and Draude said that for the first time since she found out she had the disease, he saw his sister smile.

Martin fully recovered from the disease and is currently studying abroad in Spain. Draude said his sister sent him to the Relay with a message for the walkers.

“She wanted to say: Thanks for saving my life,” he said.

It was inspirational stories like Draude’s that motivated participants in Colleges Against Cancer’s Fourth Annual Relay For Life to brave the cold weather and walk for a cure.

By the end of the weekend the participants collectively raised more than $105,000 for the American Cancer Society, surpassing their $100,000 goal.

Ninety-five teams of students and Pittsburgh community members, many dressed in rain boots, hats and sweatshirts, walked around the path between the Cathedral and Heinz Memorial Chapel from Friday at 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. Saturday.

Junior Taylor McKelvie, who co-chairs the Relay For Life committee, said that despite the weather, around 400 people attended the event throughout the night. While 1,000 participants were originally signed up, most did not stay the entire 15 hours.

“We had a lot of people going in and out,” she said.

McKelvie said most teams planned it out so that one person from each team would walk two to three hours during the night — leaving about 100 participants constantly on the path.

“Cancer never sleeps, so we stayed up all night,” McKelvie said.

The rain subsided for most of the night, but showers prior to the event left the walkways and the grass area muddy.

“Although the ground wasn’t ideal, at least water wasn’t falling on us,” McKelvie said.

Participants set up their tents and on-site fundraisers around the pathways — bake sales, corn hole and non-alcoholic pong were just a few of the ways participants brought in some extra money.

McKelvie said the Relay For Life Committee was very pleased at the amount of teams that decorated their tents with the Las Vegas theme to go along with the “Beat the Odds” Relay.

An Elvis impersonator and a little white chapel were present, courtesy of Pitt’s Biology graduate students. For $2, Elvis would not only “marry” two people, but also provide them with photo evidence of the matrimony.

Captain Sarah Hainer said the team had raised $1,600 prior to the event through a department happy hour and e-mails to friends and family. They hoped to raise more at their “wedding” fundraiser.

“We even have props — top hats, veils, a bow-tie,” she said.

Members of Pitt’s Nursing School also made an appearance at the event. The team of 20 students had two members running a bake sale and taking blood pressure for $1 while the rest of the team walked the path.

“If their blood pressure is within the normal safe range, they get a piece of candy,” junior Michael DiTommaso said.

His team prepared for its overnight stay with “a lot of extra socks.”

Team Homo Sapiens set up its tent a few feet away from team Nursing School. The team of 11 students from Pitt, IUP and Carnegie Mellon also held a bake sale with homemade cookies and brownies.

To capture the essence of Las Vegas, the team members served non-alcoholic mocktails. Their best seller was the one dollar Shirley Temple, said co-captain sophomore Emily Rowe.

VanArsdale said her team members remained enthusiastic despite the weather as they took turns running home to change clothes.

“Luckily we set the tent up in the middle of the rain,” VanArsdale joked.

In the past four years, the Relay has grown from 19 teams raising $13,000 to 95 teams raising more than $100,000 this weekend.

The chair of the committee, senior Jade Holtzinger, said the event continues to grow every year — this year’s Relay raised $25,000 more than last year’s.

“I hope to see it as big as Thon someday,” she said, referring to Penn State’s dance marathon, which raised more than $9 million this year for childhood cancer research.