North Baltimore County Relay For Life June 7 "Celebrate, Remember and Fight Back"

Like so many families in Baltimore County, Sheila Staub’s family has battled cancer and lost loved ones to it.  Her grandmother passed away from breast cancer; her uncle had brain cancer, and a young cousin, her own age, lost her fight with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. 

So five years ago, Sheila, who lives in Sparks, decided to do something to the fight back against cancer.  She googled the nearest Relay For Life and reached out to her local American Cancer Society to get involved.  She met Jessie Bernstein, who at the time was a Relay staff specialist and is now a volunteer.  “Jessie’s energy and enthusiasm won me over,” says Sheila, chairperson for the North Baltimore County Relay For Life at Goucher College on June 7 beginning at 6 p.m.

Relay For Life is an overnight event that takes place at local schools, parks or fairgrounds across the country – there are Relays in more than 5,000 communities with more than 4 million participants.  “It’s a testimony to how many people want to fight back against cancer.  Since cancer never sleeps, most Relays go from the evening until sunrise, and teams take turns walking around a track,” says Beth Garbolino, senior manager of Relay For Life.  “People don’t have to stay overnight but many do and have a great time.  It’s like a big family.”

Sheila, her family and friends formed the “Bmore Involved Team.” They set up a campsite every year at Relay. 

“We have hourly theme laps at Relay all night to keep people involved.  Last year, we had a Zumba class at 2 a.m. and a yoga sunrise session.  There’s face painting, crafts and activities.”

One of Relay’s highlights is the Luminaria ceremony, just after dark, when Luminaria bags are placed around the track and spell out the word HOPE in large letters. 

 “The first Luminaria ceremony you attend changes you and inspires you,” explains Sheila, who lights Luminaria for family members she’s lost, as well as people in the community battling cancer.  “It really means something to honor the people we’ve lost to cancer.”

Jim Higbee, a melanoma survivor and Towson resident, decided to join Relay For Life after his daughter and the daughter of a colleague walked in their college Relays in his honor at Syracuse University and James Madison University, respectively.

“I thought about all the patients I met at Johns Hopkins during my treatment and what a difficult time some of them had.  I needed to do something to fight back, so I Relay in their honor.”

Jim, a CPA, formed a team named “Rowles Relayers” after the accounting firm at which he’s a partner, composed of his family and co-workers.