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Open house on Feb. 20 kicks off Relay
for Life cancer-awareness campaign

By Nancy J. Ashmore
February 14, 2002

Combating cancer isn?t an abstract concept to the nine women who live in Lincoln Inn, the St. Olaf College honor house that serves as the Northfield headquarters of the American Cancer Society. Nearly everyone in ACS House has lost relatives or friends to some form of the disease ? or seen the lives of loved ones improved or saved by advances in cancer treatment. And each one of them is focusing her service activities for the year on the honor house?s cancer prevention, education and fund-raising activities.

On Wednesday, Feb. 20, ACS House will kick off its latest initiative ? recruiting teams to participate in the Relay for Life which will be held on Manitou Field in May. At an open house from 4 to 8 p.m. in Buntrock Commons, Room 144, the group will begin to distribute information to team captains about how to organize teams of 8-15 members who will raise money for cancer research, education, advocacy and service by taking turns walking, jogging or running around the St. Olaf track over a seven-hour period.

"This is a great opportunity to gather together with family or friends from work, church or school to contribute to a worthwhile cause and to pay tribute to those who have battled cancer personally and as researchers and medical professionals," says Trisha Bainbridge, a senior from Excelsior, Minn. "We invite anyone who has assembled a team or is considering doing so to drop by the open house. We?ll be happy to answer your questions about the event and give you a packet of information to help you organize your team and its fund-raising efforts."

Those who can?t attend but want an information packet should write to ACS House, c/o Trisha Bainbridge, 1500 St. Olaf Ave., Northfield, MN 55057, says the senior.

Among the nation?s top 10
ACS House is aiming to recruit 75 teams for this year?s event and to raise $70,000 in donations. In 2001, the event raised more than $61,000, and in 2000 it raised $70,378 in donations. That amount, when combined with the proceeds of the Relay for Life in Faribault, put Rice County in the top 10 nationally, on a per capita basis, according to ACS officials.

ACS House, which is working this year to recruit even more teams at Carleton College and at local schools and businesses in hopes of improving upon past performances, encourages everyone to find a way to contribute to this effort.

"It?s rare in this day and age to find someone whose life has not been touched by cancer," says Hanni Wenker, of Mendota Heights, Minn. "My desire to participate in the ACS House stemmed from the death of a loved one, ?Grandma Theresa.? Her death affected me deeply. But as time went on, I realized that she would want me to be pro-active about finding a cure and providing others with information on cancer. The ACS House and the Relay for Life allow me to do both."

Despite its serious underpinnings, the relay is far from a somber event, Wenker notes. "The relay provides an opportunity to reflect on our journey together ? and to celebrate it."

This year?s relay will begin at 6 p.m., Saturday, May 11, with a victory lap by women and men who are cancer survivors. That will be followed by seven hours of food, fun and camaraderie, along with door prizes, music by student bands and an information booth dispensing educational materials. Luminaria will be lit at dusk to honor loved ones who have survived cancer and remember those who have not.

"There are many ways to be involved besides walking or jogging in the relay," adds Bainbridge. "Please contact ACS House if you are interested in supporting other participants, making a corporate donation, sponsoring luminaria or volunteering time."

The open house is just one of many ACS House projects this year:

  • During National Breast Cancer Awareness Month last October, house members distributed pink ribbons on campus and posted information at Northfield businesses and churches.
  • For the Great Smoke Out in November they traveled to Northfield Middle School to speak to health and physical education students.
  • They spent January collecting orders for Daffodil Days in March.

The American Cancer Society is a nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering through research, education, advocacy and service.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.