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Last year, �鶹��ý�Ŷ� students who participated in the campus Relay for Life event reached an important milestone — they were the American Cancer Society’s top relay fundraiser in all of New York and one of the top 25 relay fundraising efforts in the country.

They are back at it April 8, with a new goal. This year, students want to raise $180,000 — $5,000 more than last year’s goal.

A fervor for fundraising -- driven not only by students’ personal connections to cancer but also by their overall desire to give back to the community -- is one of the reasons why �鶹��ý�Ŷ� is so successful with this event.

American Cancer Society Community Manager Jordan Cimilluca ’15 says student commitment to help worthy causes is behind the succes.

“They see something, they grab a hold of it, and they do the absolute best they can,” says Cimilluca, who was an active participant in Relay For Life while on campus. She now helps student volunteers arrange Relay For Life events at their schools, including �鶹��ý�Ŷ�.

“Maintaining our growth is a huge testament to �鶹��ý�Ŷ� and how driven and motivated the students are to support a good cause and support each other,” says �鶹��ý�Ŷ� Relay for Life Chair Bridget Beermann ’17.

Such leadership, among organizers and students, says Cimilluca, also accounts for the event’s amazing success.

It’s a year-round commitment, from many diverse groups.

“We spend all year preparing for Relay, from booking next year's Relay the day after this year's event, to working over the summer and straight all year round during the fall and spring semesters,” says �鶹��ý�Ŷ� Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) President Ashley Buttice ’17. “The amount of time and energy is unmeasurable but so worth it.”

Here are some of the efforts of CAC and other student clubs that participate in year-round fundraising. CAC consistently tries to engage more campus groups.

• Colleges Against Cancer club hosts several fundraisers, and partners with outside vendors such as Chipotle and Yo-Berry. The club also puts on an event known as the “car smash” every year, at which students can pay to smash parts of an old car. All proceeds are donated to Relay for Life.

• Coaches vs. Cancer began several years ago in an attempt to engage athletics in the cause. The sports teams host a game and donate the proceeds to Relay For Life. Almost every varsity and club sport now participates, including the men’s �鶹��ý�Ŷ� Rugby Football Club, which goes beyond its fundraiser game by hosting a head-shaving event in the Union with its players to raise more money. Several “ruggers” will be in the college union on Friday, April 7, accepting donations to have their heads shaved.

• For 16 years, Alpha Chi Rho fraternity brothers have hosted the “Deep Freeze,” standing outside Milne Library and one of the academic buildings for 24 hours a day, for an entire week, asking for donations. This year, Alpha Chi Rho raised $3,407.

• �鶹��ý�Ŷ� Dance is also a top fundraising team for Relay For Life, with six members also active in CAC, including Beermann.

“When you see other people being passionate, it makes you feel compelled to be passionate about it and want to get involved,” she said.

These are just a few of the many fundraising efforts that populate �鶹��ý�Ŷ�’s campus in the months leading up to the big event. �鶹��ý�Ŷ� is a unique place whose students come together as a community to fight something that is much bigger than themselves.

“We like to say that �鶹��ý�Ŷ� is small but mighty, especially in comparison to the other schools in the top 25 College Relays,” says Buttice. “I think Relay is the perfect example of how dedicated �鶹��ý�Ŷ� students are to anything we do. We put 100 percent into everything we are passionate about and Relay for us is one of those things.”

Find out more about , and read about �鶹��ý�Ŷ� Relay For Life Chair Bridget Beermann '17.

—By Genna Amick ’18, Academic Affairs communications intern