2nd Annual Relay for Life at Harrison High School on June 4th

Harrison High School will host the 2nd Annual Relay for Life event on June 4th from 7pm until June 5th at 7am. Teams will walk the track and fundraise together, eat great food, and enjoy carnival-like games and activities. In anticipation of this event, students and community members painted the town and school “purple” to gain awareness. In its first year, Harrison raised over $82,000 for the American Cancer Society and this year, the group has set a lofty goal of $100,000.

HHS senior Dillon Bogart wrote a moving tribute to the emotional process of a cancer patient’s journey:

It’s sunset. You have just heard the words, “you have cancer.” Scared and hopeless, the future seems grim. Chemo, surgery, chemo, surgery and repeat. In an instant, your life takes a 180° turn. Endless questions and thoughts fill your mind. Will I make it? What about my family? Will I be able to work? I can’t pay for this. Tears roll down your face and, perhaps for the first time, you are utterly and completely lost.

For too many, this nightmare is a reality. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men will hear those words in their lifetime. 1.6 million will hear those words in 2016 alone. Black and white, male and female, gay and straight, young and old; cancer doesn’t discriminate. Most of us are less than one degree away from it; a relative, a colleague, a friend, a loved one. It's that thing that no one wants to think about but that no one can hide from.

As the night drags on, through darkness and cold, you fight. It feels like you’ve been fighting forever; it feels like the fight is unwinnable. Yet, you find hope in the little things: your neighbor who bakes you cookies and prays for your wellbeing, your best friend who watches your kids while you’re at treatment, your family who comes to visit and makes you laugh, the stranger who buys you a coffee. We are in this together, and it is only together that we will beat cancer.

This is what the Relay for Life movement is all about. At Relay, we celebrate those who have heard the words. We live, laugh and love with friends and family on blow-up obstacle courses, with pancakes at 4 am, by dancing to the music, painting our faces, dressing up for pictures, and eating cake that strangers baked for us, although they aren’t strangers by the end. We remember those that we have lost, walking around a track illuminated with Luminaria bags that are decorated with pictures, quotes, and memories. We hear each others stories and rally together for support. We fight back against cancer by raising thousands of dollars to fund the American Cancer Society’s prevention programs, research to find a cure, and services to help those in need.

The following are ways to join the Harrison community for this important event:

1) Visit our website at Relayforlife.org/harrisonNY to sign up or donate

2) Start a team, fundraise, and walk with us on June 4th

3) Register as a survivor and join us at the survivor reception at 5:30 on June 4th

4) Sponsor the event through your business and receive great benefits

5) Purchase and decorate a Luminaria bag in memory or in honor of anyone who has heard those words.

6) Volunteer to help out at the event